Scarlett's Journey
by robyn redhead
Summary: Scarlett and Freddie's parents die, leaving them homeless. Then hope comes in the shape of a Mr Lovejoy, offering them a job to serve him and Mr Hockley onboard RMS Titanic. Scarlett discovers feelings for Cal, but then meets the charming Jack Dawson.
1. Let Me Help You There, Miss

Authors Note: Sorry for the first few chapters, nothing really Titanic related yet, just a bit of background information, setting the scene and stuff. Hope you enjoy, more to follow. Please rate and review, any feedback appreciated. First Titanic fanfic. Robyn x

When my father died, I knew it wouldn't be long before my mother followed. Her world was ripped apart when he passed away, not to mention our wealthy lifestyle was suddenly stumped. My father had earned a great deal, and we lived in a luxurious lifestyle, my parents, myself and my younger brother, Freddie. Whatever we wanted, we got; fine clothes, good food, large house and garden.

Now that he was gone, there was no money, for he had left it all to his sister, who lived in New York. I was fourteen at the time, old enough to understand that our lives were now going to change dramatically. Freddie, only four, didn't understand, and couldn't contemplate why we were only eating meat twice a week, as opposed to the four or five times we would have had it before.

I could see my mother crumbling. She put on a brave face, but underneath, I knew she was struggling to keep going. Therefore it came as no surprise to me when, after refusing to get out of bed for three days, our local doctor, Doctor Constantine, diagnosed her with serious depression. Such a thing was so unheard of in those days, that there was no medical treatment, and my mother refused to let Doctor Constantine proscribe her any therapy, stating "I am no crazy woman!" But she _looked _like a crazy women, with her hair untamed, and wearing the same clothes for days on end. She refused to eat, and she became almost skeletal.

Although Freddie was too young to understand what was wrong with our mother, he knew enough to stay away from her, and became very subdued. I remember looking at him one evening, after a supper of leek soup and a measly slice of bread, and promising to myself, that whatever happened, I would look after him, and that I would never let anything happen to him.

After two weeks of my mother's ill health, Doctor Constantine took me into a quiet room, and told me that she didn't have long to live. I wasn't as upset by this as I thought I would be. I think it was because I had been expecting it for so long, and also that I didn't really see this crazy women in my mother's bed, her clothes, as my mother. To me, she was different, and it almost felt as if I had already lost my mother, weeks ago.

I was told to take Freddie in, to let him say goodbye, but he refused. I didn't blame him. The women lying in the bed, her hair and skin greying, her skin pale and her bones sticking out was not our mother. I, however, stayed with her right up until she died. When she gave her last breath, I felt almost relieved. At least now she could be reunited with my father.

Next day, however, mine and Freddie's life came crashing down around us. A man in a smart suit came to our house, whisked round with a notebook, and then spoke to another man, who put the house on sale. All of our fine things, our clothes and shoes were taken, the furniture stripped, and by dusk the following day, Freddie and I were declared homeless.

It had all happened so quickly, one minute I was sipping lemon tea in the garden with mother, watching Freddie run around the lawn, next I was struggling to carry Freddie, along with two small cases, out to a carriage, which would be taking us to our new home, an orphanage.

"Let me help you there miss" said the voice of the young porter. My first impression was to refuse, the man had very dirty hands, and looked what my father would have called, "riff-raff". But then I remembered, that we were all the same now. Me and Freddie and not a penny between us, and we were probably poorer than this man, and I felt suddenly guilty that he was calling me "miss".

I smiled at him gratefully, trying to convey all the warmth and feelings I had just run over in my head, into one smile. I passed him over the cases, juggling Freddie back onto my hip.

"Thank you, sir" I added, saying the "sir" to try and show him that she was no more a miss, as he was a sir. She wasn't sure he got the message.

"Aw, miss, I ain't no sir, just one of those common folk doing my duty for you fine people" I winced, thinking dreadfully of what my father would have said about his speech, she could hear him now; "And that, Scarlett dear is what separates us good people, from the bad people. If there's one way to tell a man's pocket, it's to listen to his speech!" And then he would roll off in laughter, and my mother would join in. Doubt suddenly crept into my head. Were my parents stuck up? Yes, was probably the answer to that. And they had no qualms about voicing their opinions at the top of their voices. Were her parents not the perfect image that all children are meant to see as their parents? I stopped my thoughts in their tracks, what did it matter now, what my parents were like, they are dead now.

I shook my head, clearing it of any further bad thoughts of my parents, gave the scruffy porter one last smile, and climbed into the carriage.


	2. Appropriate Clothing

The journey to the orphanage would probably have been a pleasant one, had it not been for the impending doom that lay ahead for us. From the moment we arrived, I could tell our time here would not be pleasant. A stern lady in a starched uniform took down our names, and immediately sent us to a room to be given what she called, "appropriate clothing". My pink satin frock was stripped off, and in its place, I was given a plain brown dress that smelt as if a hundred girls had worn it before, and a pair of worn, old boots. My long, red hair was also cut to my shoulders, a woman telling me long hair took too much grooming.

If I remember correctly, Freddie and I spent two, long months in that orphanage. The food was terrible, and we mostly had to sleep on the floor, sharing a blanket, that I usually gave to Freddie. I thought Freddie would cry a lot, he had never been worlds bravest boy, and often was a bit of a cry baby. However, he seemed to have grown up somewhat, after our parents death, and rarely cried, no matter how awful something was.

In about late February, it was night time, and Freddie had just fallen asleep, while I, unable to sleep, lay awake. I looked down at my sleeping brother, and a sudden pang hit me; of when I had made the promise to look after Freddie no matter what, and to never let anything happen to him. I suddenly realised that I had not been keeping this promise. Being at the orphanage was no way to be living a childhood, and I decided that I would be letting Freddie down if I didn't get us out of here soon.

I lay, that night, staring out of a small window in the ceiling, wondering if it would be possible to run away from the orphanage. My mind was not really in the right place, as it bypassed all the things I should have thought of, such as food, money, home, warmth. All I could think about was getting out there, and getting Freddie a better life.

I began to put together a plan, and by dawn next morning, I had made up my mind that we would run away from the orphanage that night.

Of course, in reality, the plan didn't run quite how I had played it out in my head the night before, and instead of slipping through the door unnoticed, and walking for only five minutes before finding a nice warm place to stay, with a nice hot meal; we were unfortunate to bump into the matron, Mrs Partridge on our way downstairs, and I had to push past her quickly in the dark, and make a run for it, Freddie clasped firmly in my arms. We then continued to run, instead of walk, to the nearest town, and stayed the night in a doorway, freezing cold and hungry.

But, despite all our misfortune, as I rocked Freddie to sleep in that damp doorway, I felt elated somewhat. I had managed to save myself and Freddie from the clutches of the orphanage, and here we were, about to make a new life for ourselves.

This adrenaline and happiness didn't continue the next morning though, and a fat butcher yelled at us to get out of the doorway. I stumbled through the streets, pulling Freddie along, our feet aching in our old boots. I wished that I'd remembered out coats, but in all the rush to get away, I had forgotten them, and a wintery wind was blowing round us. Freddie cried of hunger, and thirst, and by dinnertime that night, I felt like crying too. I was so hungry, I felt almost tempted by a bowl of gruel, like what we would have got at the orphanage. But I knew I had to stay strong, and be the adult. So, I asked a kind looking old lady if she would lend us a few pence, and I bought a loaf of bread.

Freddie and I tore hungrily at the bread, and I happened to catch sight of us in a window. I was shocked by what I saw. Staring back at me was not a person I recognised. Of course, I knew it was me, but I was so unrecognisable. My hair was wild, and my face dirty. I had gotten skinny, and the shabby dress was hanging of my shoulders. I looked like a crazy woman, tearing at this bread with my teeth. This would have to stop. There must be a way to get money, I thought.

I thought back to a book I had once read, in my father's study, where he often wanted to sit and read to me. I forget what the book was, but at this point, staring at my reflection, bits came back to me. It had children in it, who had been poor, they begged to get money. I knew it wasn't an excellent plan, but it was better than nothing.


	3. Well, This Could be Your Lucky Day

When we had devoured the rest of the bread, I settled us up for the night in an abandoned shop doorway, covering us with some old blankets I had found in a rubbish cart. They were smelly and dirty, but kept us from freezing. I took Freddie's cap off his head, and placed it in front of us. That was what the children in the book had done; it was for people to put spare change in.

By daylight the next morning, the cap held a few pennies. I was surprised at how easy it was, and I was overcome by people's generosity. Again, I felt a pang of guilt. My parents would never have spared any pennies for beggars.

And so, this is how Freddie and I spent a few weeks of our lives, begging for money in a doorstep, and then spending what we got on food and drink. The winter rolled into spring, though I didn't know the exact date, I knew that March must have arrived, because it was getting lighter and the weather warmer. Though, with the warmer weather came freak rainstorms; the sky would suddenly turn black, and rain would fall heavily.

It was on one of these wet, dark days, that mine and Freddie's lives changed dramatically, though at the time we were unaware of how much they were going to change.

A black carriage pulled up in front of us, and a man stepped out, carrying an umbrella above his head. He darted towards us, rain pouring down. To my surprise, he walked straight up to us and crouched down, as if to talk to us. Up close, he appeared middle aged, with grey hair. He spoke in a low voice.

"I have been watching you two a while. Homeless are you?" he had an abrupt manner, but it wasn't particularly unpleasant.

"Yes" I nodded, longing to pour out our tale of woe, but decided now was not the time.

"Well then madam, young man" he added to Freddie who had been staring up at this peculiar fellow, "this could be your lucky day"

Lucky day? I wondered. What on earth was this man talking about?

"I would like to offer you a job. Both of you. My name is Mr Lovejoy, and I am soon to be boarding the HMS Titanic, along with my good friend, Mr Caledon Hockley. I expect you've heard of the Titanic, right?"

I nodded again; the Titanic was all people were talking about on the streets, the unsinkable ship, they called it, soon to be making her maiden voyage to America.

"Well then" Mr Lovejoy continued "I will make you an offer I'm sure you cannot resist. Accompany me and Mr Hockley on board. You will work as our servants, cleaning and fetching us things, we shall need a lot done on this trip. In payment, a trip on board the Titanic. So then, what do you say"

For a few moments, I was stunned. Was this man serious, what would he want with a couple of children? Although I was now nearly sixteen, Freddie was only five, what use would he be? But, very quickly, as the rain continued to pour, good deal or not, the man had made her an offer, and she wasn't going to hesitate accepting a moment longer.


	4. The Mighty Caledon Hockley

We stayed at the Lovejoy residence for just over four weeks. Out stay there was not wonderful, but it was a million times better than being on the streets. As soon as we reached the house, a kind maid named Miss Stephanie scrubbed us down in a spotless bathroom. It wasn't quite so spotless when Freddie and I had been in it, however. We were cleaned from head to toe, and when I stared into the mirror hanging above the basin, I saw a great resemblance to my former self. I just wished my hair would grow, I loved having long hair.

After being cleaned thoroughly, and our clothes taken to be disposed off, we were given new "uniforms" that we would be expected to wear all the time throughout our stay, and also when we would be serving Mr Lovejoy and Mr Hockley on the Titanic. I had a black polo neck jumper, with a bottle green pinafore, and shiny black shoes. Freddie had the same, only green trousers instead of pinafore. We did both look so smart, but also a little plain. I had been used to frocks of all silks and colours. But at least the clothes were warm and comfortable, unlike the rags we had been wearing previously. We were given two sets of the clothes, which would have to make do for the week before they were washed.

When we were all shined up new, Mr Lovejoy requested our presence in the drawing room. Miss Stephanie said we'd better go quick, Mr Lovejoy didn't like to be kept waiting. So we swiftly made our way. The drawing room was a vast space, filled with luxurious furniture and artwork. Mr Lovejoy lay on a couch, smoking a cigarette. It was obvious he did this often, as there was a thick, foggy haze of smoke about the room. He was talking to a man who had his back to us, also drawing deep on a cigarette. He turned around when we came in, and this was the first time I laid eyes upon Caledon Hockley.

He was not particularly tall, yet had a domineering feel about him all the same. His dark hair was swept neatly across his head, and he gave a slimy smile at me. He swung his legs down and stood up, shortly followed by Mr Lovejoy, who quickly put out his cigarette.

"Ah, Cal, here are the children I have employed to wait on us. I hope you find they are in order" he said.

My stomach lurched wondering what would happen if we _weren't _in order.

Mr Hockley surveyed us for a few moments, his eyes resting uponmine. Freddie cowered behind me, but I stared him out. I wasn't going to be intimidated by this man. After what seemed an eternity, his eyes moved away from mine, and down to Freddie.

"A bit young, aren't they?" he said to Mr Lovejoy. This was it, I thought, back onto the streets for us. But Mr Lovejoy answered him.

"The boy perhaps, he is six. But the girl, she is sixteen and will be of great use to us. She cannot be without her brother"

Cal Hockley took one last glance at Freddie and me, then said "Very well, I see your point. You may leave now."

Me and Freddie made to leave, but just as I turned to go through the door, I distinctly heard Mr Hockley say,

"What did you say her name was again?"

"Scarlett. Scarlett Monty. And her brother, Freddie."

"Scarlett". Cal repeated, almost to himself. But he was putting a new twist on my name, and I hated the way it curled round his sly lips. I almost came to dread our voyage.


	5. Watch yourself, Miss Monty

Authors Note: Just to add that I am going to show a different side to Cal in these next chapters, and also I should say that there is an absence of Rose in this story. I have just got it that Cal is travelling with Mr Lovejoy, and that there is no Rose. Enjoy, Robyn x

While I was dreading our trip on Titanic, mostly because of Caledon Hockley, Freddie was so excited, he was almost back to his old self. He ran about the place, whenever out of earshot of Mr Lovejoy, and made friends with the gardener, a man named Smith. Not Mr Smith. Just Smith. And to us, it was enough of a name, it suited him perfectly, and we didn't question him about it.

Freddie would spend the best part of the day with Smith, helping him in the garden, while I was left to do the rest of the chores inside the house. Our trip was drawing ever-closer and Mr Lovejoy kept us busy helping him and Cal with their preparations. And weren't there a lot of preparations to do! It seemed that Cal and Mr Lovejoy were bringing half their home on the Titanic with them.

One sunny afternoon, a few days before we were due to leave I found myself alone in the bedroom that me and Freddie shared; a large, airy room, with two single beds and a small closet. It wasn't much, but it was comfortable. I walked to the window, which overlooked the garden, and smiled to myself as I saw Freddie helping Smith pull out some weeds.

A sudden noise made me whip round. There, in the doorway, was Cal. I gasped, and stuttered, "Mr Hockley, sir, I am so sorry, I am just getting back to the chores, I just came to fetch a, a, um..." I trailed off.

Cal smiled. But it was not one of his normal, gut churning, sly smiles that made you want to run away as fast as possible, but a different smile, almost filled with warmth.

"You don't need to report to me, Scarlett; you've been doing a great job around here" he said "I actually came to find you, to talk to you"

"Talk to me?" I said, astonished. Cal walked to the bed, and sat down on the edge.

"Yes, I realised these past few weeks haven't been easy for you, and I know I have been partly to blame"

Mostly to blame, I thought to myself, but decided not to voice this.

"I wanted to apologise, and hope that this doesn't affect our trip next week, we shall be seeing a lot of each other, and I don't want anyone feeling uncomfortable." I could feel Cal looking at me, but I pointedly at the door.

"Of course not, sir" I appreciate what you have said, I am sorry to have been an inconvenience to you"

"Not at all, I believe it to be my fault" said Cal, standing up.

"Good day, Mr Hockley" I said, and Cal took the hint to leave. Just as he was in the doorway, he turned, and hurriedly said, "You know, when it is just us, you can call me Cal" he then grinned, actually grinned, and then darted away. I was stood staring in disbelief at the doorway, blushing hotly, even though I was alone, call him Cal? What made him think I would want to refer to him as Cal? Who did he think he was? Who did he think _I _was? Some girl that was instantly going to fall head over heels over him? I didn't think so.

But, as I dusted the long shelves of books in the study that evening, Cal's grinning face kept swimming in front of me...

The day of our voyage dawned bright and sunny. I was awake at the crack of dawn, getting myself and Freddie ready. I dressed us both in our uniforms; they were clean and pressed ready for the Titanic. Our shoes were shiny, and I combed both of our hair. When I studied my face in the glass, I was worried about my face. The Titanic first class area would be full of beautiful women, like the ones in the portraits Mr Lovejoy had dotted around the house. I sighed, what did it matter? I was only a servant.

I spent several hours helping to pack belongings into the carriages, and at last we were ready to go. I was just carrying an empty box back into the house, when I tripped, but felt someone grab my arm, and keep me up. I was surprised to see Cal, dressed in his best, holding me up.

"You'd better watch yourself, Miss Monty, you could hurt yourself" Miss Monty? What was Cal playing at? I was his servant, not an equal! I hurried inside, and then did one last sweep of the bedroom, before heading into a carriage with Freddie, and the plump cook, Ann, and other members of staff I knew not by name.

With one last look at the house I had called home for a matter of weeks, we were off on what would be our biggest adventure yet.


	6. A Most Exquisite Garment

We stopped for a break in a small village just outside of Southampton, where the Titanic was to leave on its maiden voyage. Cal and Mr Lovejoy stepped outside of their carriage, to take a wonder and a smoke.

I chose to remain in the carriage with Freddie, who had fallen asleep around ten minutes into our journey. Though, after five minutes, there was a knock on the carriage door. I jumped at the sound, Ann had left to take a look around, so I guessed it was just her returning, though it would make no sense for her to knock. I hurriedly opened the door, and I was surprised to see Mr Lovejoy standing there with two boxes, the kind grand clothes were packaged in.

"Ah, Scarlett, I'm glad you're here, these are for you and Freddie, I am sure they will be of great use to you. I apologise for them being late, but we had them handmade." He said, passing me over the boxes.

I opened the lid, and gasped. Inside was a beautiful felt duffel coat, in black. It was so soft I felt the sudden desire to put it on, despite the warm sun outside. But I stopped myself.

"Mr Lovejoy, this is a most exquisite garment, I am quite sure we should be unable to accept such a gift. You have already done enough" I made preparations to place the coat back in the box, but then Mr Lovejoy spoke.

"No, my dear, I insist. You have not a coat between you, and it will be anything but warm up on deck when we arrive. Mr Hockley has requested you two are to be given the best treatment, he doesn't want you catching chills that would be no good for anyone, now would it?" He chuckled to himself, and wandered away, leaving me with no choice but to accept the coats. I shut the carriage door, and went to wake Freddie up.

"Psst, Freddie, wake up and see what Mr Lovejoy has given us" I whispered softly in his ear.

Freddie was just as in awe by the coats as I was. Sure, we had had coats as fine as these when we lived with our parents, but I would never dreamed of being given one by a man who's servant I was meant to be. I felt very privileged.

We started up again shortly, and I looked out of the window, watching countryside slowly turn into the port of Southampton. The carriages slowly came to a stop, and I got out, ready to help with the baggage. The port was very busy, and there was a great feeling of excitement in the air, so strong that I could feel it through my whole body. People were milling around everywhere, most were first class women and gentlemen, dressed in their best, though behind a barrier, hundreds of local people had turned up to watch the Titanic set off.

I carried some packages and bags over to the loading area, and was on my way back, when I felt a firm hand on my arm. I turned to see an Official, dressed in the White Star Line uniform, and looking down at me.

"Excuse me Miss" he began "I mean no offence, but you've got no right being down here, this is first class only. The steerage loading area is down by the bow. I'm afraid I'll have to escort you there myself."

I was thoroughly embarrassed, beautiful women surrounded me, and here was a man telling me I should be in steerage! I shook his hand off my shoulder.

"I am sorry Sir, but I happen to be a servant to Mr Lovejoy and Mr Hockley, I'll have you know, I was just bringing some of their belongings down here."

The Official looked doubtful.

"Got any proof of that tale then, Miss?" he asked.

I was outraged, and just about to come out with a stream of abuse, when an arm was placed around my shoulder. I thought it was yet another Official, come to escort me away, but I turned and saw it was Cal.

"What appears to be the trouble here,?" he enquired to the Official, who now looked very small compared to Cal. "Scarlett we've been waiting for you"

"Oh, um, nothing, Mr uh Hockley, sir. Nothing at all" he stammered out.

"Good" said Cal, smoothly, "Then let's keep it that way" He steered me around, and began to walk away. I couldn't resist a look at the Official, who was hurriedly mopping his now sweaty brow. He saw me looking, and I couldn't help giving him a very smug look indeed. I noticed Cal was looking at me, and I quickly re arranged my features. I could have sworn I saw a smirk playing o his lips.

When we returned, all the baggage had been taken, and it was time to board the ship. I still had to carry a small satchel, not to mention the two brand new coats, that I refused to have put in the loading area, for fear of losing them.

Two finely dressed women headed for the door at the same time as me, and pushed me right out of the way, I stumbled, just managing to keep hold of my things.

"Watch where you're going!" said one, and then, to her friend, she said, "Honestly, you'd think they'd put that lot in a different boarding area to us!"

"Oh, I think they did, dear" said the other "I think this one's just escaped" And off they went, chortling to one another, while I was left blushing like a lobster. I huffed over to the cabin door, and a man in a suit helped me in through. The floors were luxuriously carpeted, and I was surprised, I had never seen carpeted floors in a ship before!

Just away from the door, were stood Mr Lovejoy, Cal and an abundance of staff, Ann was holding Freddie in her arms.

"There you are Scarlett!" exclaimed Mr Lovejoy "Really, you must stop getting left behind, we thought you had toppled into the sea!" Oh what a funny happening that would have been, I thought cynically, as Mr Lovejoy chuckled to himself again.

As we made our way to the room, I retold the tale of the Official, and then of the two women to Ann. She seemed to find it hilarious.

"It's not funny!" I said as she went off in peals of laughter amount the two snooty women. Perhaps I said this a little too loudly, as Cal turned round. Ann was immediately silent. He turned back again, that same smirk appearing on his face, as if he wanted to laugh, but was holding it in. I caught Ann's eye again, and she was sent off into silent laughter until we reached the room.


	7. In Fact, I May Join You

Authors Note: Hello again! Thanks for all the reviews so far, I hope people are enjoying is as much as I am enjoying writing it! Just to say that I have made Cal slightly younger than he is in the film. Because Scarlett is only sixteen, and things would be a bit odd if he was thirty-something, so I have made him about 24. Enjoy the next chapters. Robyn x

Mr Lovejoy and Cal's room was the grandest room on board a ship I had ever seen. The walls were luxurious, as were the carpets. And the furniture was exquisite. It was the most wonderful room ever. I wondered where I would be sleeping; this detail had not been discussed yet. My questions were soon answered though; I was to sleep in a little room across the corridor from Mr Lovejoy and Cal's. It was a much more basic room, but cosy all the same. I was to share it with Ann, and seeing as there were just two beds, I guessed me and Freddie would be sharing a bed.

Whilst all the belongings were brought up, and we had the onerous task of unpacking it all, there was a knock at the door. I looked to Cal, but he was deep in conversation with Mr Lovejoy, so I went to answer it myself. I was a young porter.

"Mornin', Miss" he said, his voice full of a cockney accent "I hates to be disturbing you, but I needs to know if you'd like any valuables deposited in the safe" He gave me a toothy grin, to which I returned.

"If you should like to come in a moment, I will check with the occupants of this bedroom" I said, laying a snooty accent on a bit thick, but I think the porter took the joke.

I walked over to Cal and Mr Lovejoy, who both looked up as I reached them. I did a ridiculous courtesy I had once seen somebody do, felt so stupid I nearly laughed at myself and said,

"Excuse me, Sirs, but a young porter has come to see if you would like any valuables deposited in the safe" Mr Lovejoy and Cal looked at each other, and then at me. I looked back at them, expectantly.

"Tell him no." Said Cal, eventually "Myself and Mr Lovejoy keep our valuables with us at all times" He smiled smoothly, and returned to conversation with Mr Lovejoy; my cue to go. As I walked away I could have sworn I heard my name, and quickly turned around. Cal looked uneasy as he saw me, but hastily changed his expression and smiled, showing all his white teeth, continuing talk with Mr Lovejoy. I slowly turned again, and went back to the porter.

"Thank you, but Mr's Hockley and Lovejoy will not be requiring the service of the safe today" I said, today, because I didn't want the porter to think us rude, though I very much doubted that Cal or Mr Lovejoy would use the safe at all on our voyage.

"Of course, Miss. Won't you be going up deck now, she's about to depart."

"Oh" I said, very much wanting to go, Freddie would want to see the departure as well, "I think it best if I were to stay here, there is much to do."

"Not at all" said a voice to my left. Cal had appeared at my side. "You go, Scarlett, take your brother with you. You have done enough work for now. In fact..." he paused "...I may join you"

"Oh, um, there's no need..."I began to protest, but Cal was already pushing me out of the door, calling to Mr Lovejoy as he went "I'm just taking the children up deck, Spicer, to see the boat off, we won't be long." He closed the door behind him, and we crossed the corridor to my bedroom. I left the door ajar, while Cal waited outside.

"Come on, Freddie" I said to Freddie, who was sprawled on our bed "We're going up deck to say goodbye to Southampton."

Ann was there, she peered out the door. "And what is Mr Hockley doing, going off out with you?" she said. There was a glint in her eye that I wasn't keen on, so I gave her a dark look.

"He decided to come as well, is there a problem with that?" I said, a bit fiercer then I expected, and I almost was going to apologise, but then Ann spoke again.

"I expect Mr Hockley has developed an interest in you, Scarlett"

"What?!?" I said, incredulously, loud enough that we saw Cal go to peer in the room, I grabbed Ann, and pulled her out of view " Don't be ridiculous, what a thing to say! There will be no more talk of this!"

I decided that settled it, and grabbed Freddie and our new coats, and went out to the corridor.

"Everything all right?" said Cal.

"Yes, fine" I muttered, not looking at him

"Let us go then" he said, smiling. The young porter had disappeared long ago, and I longed for someone else to be there, as Freddie did not count. He was merely swinging on my arm, chanting under his breath, "Big boat, big boat, big boat..."

Everyone else seemed to be having the same idea as us, and many people were making their way along the corridor to the deck.

When we arrived on top, I was overcome with the view, hundreds of people stood below, waving up at us, while people on deck waved back.

"Would you like to move closer?" asked Cal "To the edge, of course" he added, un-necessarily, I thought. Of course I knew he meant to the edge, not to himself!

We moved with the throng of people, until we were right at the edge, and I peered down into the deep green water. I lifted Freddie up for a better look, but my arms began to ache, so I put him back down, and he looked through the railings below.

There was a strong wind, and I was glad of the thick new coat. Cal was merely wearing his suit jacket, and I thought he looked rather cold. I suggested we go inside, but he said it was fine, that we would wait until the boat had set off, at least.

A horn sounded, the sign that the boat was departing, I looked back down at Southampton, at all the people waving, I was overcome by a sudden feeling of sadness. Me and Freddie had come such a long way since our parents had died, and it was the whole reality of leaving on this grand ship, about to make a new life for ourselves. I must have shown my emotions etched in my face, because Cal asked if I was alright. I could tell from his tone that he was genuinely concerned, but I wasn't about to spill my heart out to him, no way! So I said I was fine, and plastered a smile on my face, waving to people below, as the Titanic pulled away from the port.

I wasn't until we were too far away to wave any longer that I realised me and Cal were much closer to each other then when we first entered the deck. In fact, I was sure of it. When we arrived, there was a good metre between us, now, we were practically touching, I could feel his body next to mine, shivering slightly in the cool wind.

I studied his face, briefly. I think he knew I was looking at him, because his features were positioned in an expressionless way. Eventually, I guessed he couldn't stay that way any longer, because he turned to me and said,

"Perhaps we should head inside" I agreed with him, and pulled Freddie up off the floor, where he had been sitting. Cal put his arm round my shoulders to steer me in the right direction, I was surprised to find my stomach dancing around inside me at his touch. I thought about shaking it off, but decided not to. After all, what was the point? I could not deny it now; I was falling head over heels for Caledon Hockley.


	8. She Was a Beautiful Woman

Back in my bedroom, I set about unpacking my own things and trying to fix Cal firmly out of my head. This was easy at first, Freddie was being a royal pain, and dealing with him took over my brain for the most part. First he was bored, then hungry, then thirsty. When he was eventually content, I took the small satchel of belongings and put away our things in appropriate places. While putting our clothes into the wardrobe, I saw three life jackets had been stowed at the top. I didn't expect we would ever use them, everyone said how the Titanic was unsinkable, and how God himself could not sink the ship.

However, after all the unpacking was done and I was left to amuse myself in the room until lunch, thoughts of Cal crept into my head. I tried to reason with myself, tried to visualise the Cal I had met for the first time, whose slimy smile had filled me with dread. But each time I tried, his face became more and more distorted and strange, until a dozen Cal's were dancing in front of me, none of which looked right.

At around noon, a bugle sounded, the sign that lunch was to be served. I left Freddie in charge of Ann, and went to do my duties; accompanying Mr Lovejoy and Cal to lunch, and then going back to finish sorting out their room.

I crossed the hall to the door and paused. I was unsure of how to fetch them; should I knock? Or just go straight in? I was just debating whether or not to go and ask Ann, when the door opened right in front of me. Almost to my relief, it was Mr Lovejoy, not Cal who had opened the door, for I really must have looked an idiot.

"Afternoon, Sir" I said, "If you are ready, I believe we should head to the Dining Saloon for lunch"

"Of course, of course!" said Mr Lovejoy, "Come Cal, lunch is calling us!"

Cal appeared in the doorway. I had a quick debate in my head of how to greet him, remembered to stay professional and said "Good afternoon, Mr Hockley, as I was saying to Mr Lovejoy here, I would be delighted to escort you to lunch in the Dining Saloon"

"Hear that Cal?" said Mr Lovejoy, "She would be _delighted!" _I began to think Mr Lovejoy laughed too much at his own jokes, for, again, he chuckled to himself.

I made gestures for them to follow me, and I escorted them to the Dining Saloon. Luckily, I had looked on a map earlier, for I would never have found it otherwise. I still wasn't quite sure if I could find my way back.

Waiting outside the Dining Saloon appeared to be the group of guests that Cal and Mr Lovejoy would be dining with. They all looked extremely rich, and were dressed in the most elegant attire. I felt quite plain next to them all. Cal obviously sensed my uneasiness, because he cleared his throat and said,

"Gentlemen, Ladies, this is Scarlett Monty, she and her brother have joined our staff for this voyage, I expect you to treat them with the same dignity you treat myself" I smiled round at them all, started a courtesy, thought better of it half way through, and just did a ridiculous jerk of the body.

One of the men, later introduced to me as Archibald Gracie asked, "Are you of the New York Monty's?" He enquired. As I knew my family went back a long way in England, I decided this was unlikely.

"Um, no." I said, shortly.

"Scarlett's parents are deceased" said Cal, hurriedly, before anymore of my heritage was discussed. There was a general murmur of sympathy, during which I felt extremely awkward. Luckily, Cal then turned to me and said,

"You may go now, come back around two". The group of people were slowly filing into the Dining Saloon. Cal leant towards me, and for one bizarre moment I thought he was going to kiss me, but instead said softly, "If there's any trouble, come and find me personally, ok?" I nodded, wondering incredulously what sort of trouble could possibly happen. I turned to go, walking back to the staircase, only when I was at the top of the stairs did I allow myself to look back, only to see Cal looking back at me, smiling.

I found out exactly what sort of trouble Cal had meant when I tried to make my way back to the room. It turned out everyone had the same idea as the Official and the two snooty ladies at the port; that I was a steerage passenger, with no right to be in the first class areas. Several times I was stopped, and asked for proof of my status. One man was so adamant about me leaving, that I debated doubling back to fetch Cal, but decided to save myself the humiliation. It was only when Ann came by, off to fetch some paperwork, and explained the situation, was I allowed to get back to the room.

By the time I returned to the room, I found there was very little time before I should return to the Dining Saloon. I unpacked a few more boxes for Mr Lovejoy, and took a look into their sleeping quarters. They were grand indeed, with a large four poster bed, with luxurious sheets on them.

I decided to leave with plenty of time, not quite trusting my sense of direction, and I also had to allow time for being caught by some sort of Official. I had to remember to sort something out with Cal.

I took the walk over slowly, exploring more details of the fine ship. Every inch was so wonderful in detail; I could hardly believe it was real.

I reached the Dining Saloon with plenty of time, having not gotten lost or caught, and I peered through the glass in the door. I could see them all; Cal, Mr Lovejoy, Archibald Gracie and everyone else plus a few others, all seated around a table. They appeared to be finishing to I decided to just wait out there for a bit. The Dining Saloon was a magnificent room, with grand tables and chairs, full of equally grand people, dressed in their best. My eyes were drawn back to Cal. He was laughing, and I felt my stomach twist into a knot. Oh how I wished he wouldn't do such things to me!

I turned away from the glass, and leant against the wall. Realising, suddenly, how exhausted I was, I slumped down onto the floor, a little rest wouldn't hurt, I thought. I saw on the floor for around ten minutes, when the doors to the Dining Saloon swung open, and one of the glamorous women from Cal's table rushed out, apparently in great distress, followed by her identically glamorous friend. I leapt up from my seat on the floor.

I cornered Archibald Gracie as he came out after them, demanding to know what was going on. He was obviously a man who liked a gossip, for he took no hesitation in telling me. Apparently, Lady Horsaw had asked Cal if he would accompany her on the rest of the trip, sort of like a couple I guess, and Cal had refused, causing the women to become most upset. I stared at Archibald Gracie when he was finished, I couldn't believe it, although, deep down, was sort of pleased.

"But why did Cal refuse?" I asked him "She was a beautiful woman" I said this almost resentfully.

"I know! I don't understand it either; she is very well off as well. Fancy Caledon Hockley refusing a beautiful women and a stack load of money!" I decided that Archibald Gracie was very much like Mr Lovejoy in the sense that he laughed at his own jokes.

At this moment, Cal himself swept through the Saloon doors. He looked startled to see me and Archibald Gracie stood there, and exclaimed, "Scarlett! I'm so sorry, I've got to run, important things to do, so I won't be requiring your services this afternoon, perhaps you could amuse yourself?"

"Of course, sir" I said, ever the professional, "Do not worry about me, you must get on with what you must do"

Cal gave we what I guessed was a grateful smile, and turned quickly up the staircase, taking two at a time. I watched the stairs long after he had left them.

"Do you know?" said a voice behind me, making me jump; only to remember it was Archibald Gracie, "I have never to this day seen Cal Hockley that polite with his staff! His last lady servant was beaten about the face on a daily basis! Orders were always being snapped at her, poor girl." Archibald Gracie, strode off, not waiting for me to say anything, another habit I noticed Mr Lovejoy had. I checked on Mr Lovejoy in the Saloon, he seemed to be in a deep conversation, so I decided to leave him be, and take a stroll around the ship.


	9. I'm Sure This Will Prove Most Useful

Authors Note: Hello again! Thank you to all the reviews so far. I apologise in advance for this chapter; I struggled a lot over it, and am still not pleased with it, so I shall try and post another chapter today to make up for it. For those that wonder, I am planning to introduce Jack to the story in the next chapter, or the next one after that. Robyn x

I had a long walk around the ship that afternoon, walking along the Promenade, and peering in at various luxury rooms; including the first class writing room, where I longed to go in, but thought it not best, seeing as most people seemed to think I was steerage. It really was a most marvellous ship, I could understand why people called it the Ship of Dreams, and I felt very privileged to be travelling upon it, even if it was as a servant.

When I returned to the room that evening, I saw that Ann was not there. This came as no surprise to me; there was much to be done on a ship this size. But it annoyed me slightly that she had left Freddie alone. He was sprawled on the bed.

Overcome with a sudden fatigue, I kicked off my shoes and jumped on the bed next to him, cuddling him close. I breathed in his sweet scent, and, again, I was reminded of the promise I had made to my mother, in what seemed like another lifetime ago.

"Are you happy on the Titanic, Freddie?" I asked him, eventually.

Freddie's eyes went big with excitement, "Yes!" he exclaimed "It's the most wonderful place ever, I never want to leave!"

I smile affectionately down at him. I knew what he meant, I felt almost melancholy of the idea that we would not be on the Titanic forever. I wondered, suddenly, what we would do when our work here was done; would we continue working for Mr Lovejoy and Cal? But they seemed to have lots of staff already, so perhaps not.

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. I sprung from the bed, assuming it was just Ann back from her duties. I was already to have a moan at her for leaving Freddie, but when I opened the door, it was not Ann who appeared in front of me; it was Cal.

I practically jumped at the sight of him. "Good evening Sir" I said, finally. All too late I remember my shoes, discarded by the fire, and wiggled my toes self consciously in my woollen tights. Cal didn't seem to notice though.

"Scarlett" he started, leaning against the doorframe "I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to rush off like that"

"That's quite alright, Sir" I said, wondering where this was going, after all, Cal had given me the afternoon off; there was no need to apologise.

"I, um, had to see a lady in distress". I expected this was the women who I had seen running from the Dining Saloon, the one who Cal had "turned down" as it were. I longed to ask more questions, but knew it would not be my place; so I said nothing.

Sensing that I was not going to respond to this, Cal spoke again "I heard you ran into some trouble with Officials? I hope they were not too troublesome to you."

"Not after I had dealt with them." I replied. Cal looked shocked.

"Joking" I said. It looked like I would have to be careful what I said around here. Things were not taken jokingly, unless they were said by Mr Lovejoy, and Mr Lovejoy himself took the joke, that is.

"Right. Of course" said Cal, laughing nervously. Deciding I had said too much, I was silent again. For a moment there was silence, and then; "Just in case there's any more trouble, I got you this". Cal handed me a small card, on which he had written;

_I, Caledon Nathan Hockley confirm that the holder of this card is a member of my staff, and I expect them to be allowed access to all areas of the ship, as I myself am allowed access to. _

And then he had signed it; some loopy, illegible signature.

"Thank you" I said "I'm sure this will prove most useful." Cal peered at me, as though trying to decipher if I was being sincere or not, before saying,

"I'd best be getting back now." Pointing unnecessarily at the door behind him. I smiled at him, and nodded.

"Good night, Sir"

"Good night, Scarlett" he said, returning my smile, his eyes creasing at the sides. I felt all tingly again.

I watched him cross the corridor and enter his own room, before I closed the door, and crawled back into the bed, where I found Freddie, already asleep. Without even bothering to change from my clothes, thoroughly tired from the day's events, I fell asleep. My last thought was that of Ann how she had not yet returned.


	10. I Do Not Have Time for Insolence, Child

Authors Note: Hello I apologise for my earlier mistake, pointed out to me in a recent review; of course it is the RMS Titanic, not HMS Titanic. I don't know what I was thinking! Thank you for pointing that out. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Jack will be making his grand appearance next chapter! Robyn x

I awoke the next morning to Ann's face looming over me. I shrieked and promptly fell off the bed.

"Ann!" I proclaimed, loudly, "Don't DO that to me! And where were you last night? You left Freddie all on his own!"

"So sorry, miss, but I do have some rather exciting news! I was just waiting for you to wake up!" Ann's face was bright, her eyes shining.

"Fine" I said, I couldn't deny her excitement "What is the news?"

"Well, last night, I went to the most amazing party ever! Down in steerage! Oh, it was wonderful! All drinks and music and dancing. There was a most charming man down there too, Mr Donald Rust. Oh, he was wonderful!" Ann had obviously been dying to tell me this news. It took me a little while to digest what she had said.

"A party? I said. Down in steerage? However did you know there was such a party?" I asked.

"A steerage lad told me, while I was on the Poop Deck yesterday afternoon. Sorry for leaving Freddie on his own, but I had no choice. Where were you all afternoon? I'm sure you had jobs to be doing!"

"Well, Mr Hockley was otherwise engaged; therefore he permitted me the time off. I took a wonderful look around the ship"

"Mr Hockley was otherwise engaged?" Ann's eyes went as wide as saucers "Mr Hockley found better things to be doing then bossing us lot around? Well I never!"

I frowned a little and turned away. I had seen no evidence of Cal bossing me around, and I didn't like the way other people spoke about him either. Ann sense my feelings, and changed the subject quickly,

"Scarlett, I should think you would like to go to one of these parties! Donald said they are on every night down in steerage on ships like this!" I expected I should be hearing a lot more about his Donald man before this trip was over.

"Well..." I said.

"Oh, do say you will go!" said Ann "I shall watch Freddie for you". The idea of a fun party did sound appealing. But then, I looked towards the door.

"Oh!" said Ann "Do not worry what the Misters Lovejoy and Hockley should think. I shall cover for you, say you have a fever or head pain; something like that. You simply must go, you will enjoy yourself I'm sure!"

"Oh, okay then." I said, quickly, before I could change my mind. "Come on, or we'll be late"

The morning passed with little interest of events. I caught not a glimpse of Cal, only of Mr Lovejoy, whom was in his room all morning while I polished silver with another maid who I did not know the name of.

Just before noon, Mr Lovejoy gave a telegram to take to the mail room, and, after checking I had Cal's card in my pocket, I left the room.

I skipped down the corridor, humming a jolly tune I had heard the band play at breakfast. I was in high spirits; looking forward to the party in steerage tonight. I looked down at the telegram Mr Lovejoy had given me, it was another one to New York, I assumed about business. It was all he and Cal ever seemed to talk about; that and money.

Because I was looking down at the telegram, I wasn't looking where I was going, and walked straight on into someone!

"Oh, sorry..." I looked up, and found myself staring at Cal.

"Sir! Gosh I am so sorry! I just wasn't looking where I was going I..."I trailed off. Cal wasn't even listening to my stammered apology, he pushed me gently aside and made his way down the corridor at an alarming pace. I soon found out why.

I had not gone ten feet when a women in fine dress came bustling up to me. I recognised her immediately as Lady Horsaw, the one who Cal had refused partnership too.

"Oh, you, girl." She snapped at me. I did not like being referred to as "girl". I narrowed my eyes at her, instinctively. She continued without me even saying anything.

"You are Caledon Hockley's servant girl, correct?" I didn't like the way she was looking at me, as though I was a piece a piece of dirt on the ground. I decided to play her along.

I pretended to ponder this idea for awhile before saying, "Why, yes, I do believe I am."

She sighed, "I do not have time for insolence, child. It is simply urgent I find Mr Hockley this instant. Run along and find him for me." Who did this woman think she was? Bossing me around like this, the cheek! I was certainly not going to get Cal for her, especially seeing as I now believed I had run into him trying to get away from this woman.

"Terribly sorry Miss," I put on a false grovelling voice. "But I simply _must_ deliver this telegram for Mr Lovejoy; it would be quite disastrous is I didn't" And with that I skipped past her, still laughing at the look of disbelief upon her face long after I reached the telegraph room.

When I went to collect Cal and Mr Lovejoy for lunch, I was told that they would not be dining in the Dining Saloon, but in the quieter Cafe Parisien.

"Wonderful news, isn't it?" boomed Mr Lovejoy "Dining with Mr Thomas Andrews himself! Not to mention Mr Bruce Ismay."

"Wonderful" I said, not having a clue who these men were. I could have sworn Cal almost laughed at me. He was in a much better mood then when I had seen him earlier, and for this, I was glad. I thought it best not to mention seeing Lady Horsaw.

I panicked momentarily, remembering I did not know the way to the Cafe Parisien, seeing as I had only looked up how to get to the Dining Saloon. But this panic was soon resolved by a porter going the same way, which I just followed.

When we reached the Cafe Parisien, I gestured for them to go in, and Mr Lovejoy said "Thank you, Scarlett, we will see you at two thirty, sharp" With that he wondered in. Cal remained however, and turned to say to me,

"Mr Andrews helped design and build the Titanic, and Mr Ismay is the managing director of the White Star Line" he smiled at me, and I realised I had not fooled him earlier.

"Oh" was all I managed to say "I suppose lunch with them would be quite wonderful"

Cal laughed at this, and then bid me goodbye before going into the Cafe Parisien.

I went to collect them again, I brought Freddie with me. He had been restless all morning, and I thought the wonder around the ship would do him good. I passed Ann on my way over, she whispered to me as I went by, "Tonight! Don't forget!" As if I would! Honestly, people must have really thought I was stupid.

I reached Cafe Parisien just as they were all coming out.

"Ah, Scarlett!" said Mr Lovejoy, unnecessarily loud, I thought. "Come and meet Mr Andrews and Mr Ismay. Gentlemen, this is Scarlett, our new servant, and her brother, Freddie"

"It is an honour to meet you, Sirs" I said, because I thought it felt like the right thing to say. Cal smirked at me.

One of the men turned to me, Mr Andrews, I later found out. He was a grey haired man with kind eyes. He looked at me with them now.

"And do you like the ship I built, Scarlett?" he asked.

"She is a mighty fine ship, Mr Andrews, Sir. The best I have travelled on."

"Perhaps, you would accompany us on a tour tomorrow. I am taking Mr Lovejoy and Mr Hockley there on one myself, if you would wish to come."

"Oh, I don't think I..." I began

"She'll come" It was Cal who said this, and I looked at him sharply; I could make decisions for myself!

"I..." I began to protest again, but Mr Andrews clapped his hands together and said,

"Excellent! I shall see you fine people tomorrow then!" and he walked off, smiling at me as he went by.

"But..." I started one last time, but this time it was Mr Lovejoy who cut across me.

"Now, now, Scarlett, enough talk, lets head back now, there is plenty of work for you to be doing"

So I had no choice but to lead them back to the room, dragging Freddie by the arm.


	11. You'd Be Surprised at Who You Meet

The afternoon passed without any particular excitement (unless you count Freddie getting stuck in the laundry room, and me having to call on the assistance of a porter to get him out) and soon I found myself getting ready to go down to steerage.

Ann had promised to cover for me, and I was feeling rather excited at the prospect of the party. My only concern was my lack of clothing; for I only had my uniform with me. However, Ann said my clothes would fit in just fine down in steerage. I decided that this wasn't a compliment. I had directions of where to go, and, at eight thirty, I made my way down.

I met nobody on the way there, and I felt lucky for this. After all, I did not want to bump into Archibald Gracie, or Mr Andrews, for they would surely inform Mr Lovejoy, or Cal. I was surprised to see that steerage passengers were locked behind gates; their areas completely segregated from the second and first classes. I thought at first these would be problematic, but then I remembered Ann telling me to use the gate of the far right, as this was always left open for some reason.

And indeed it was open, for I slipped in with ease. The steerage corridors were much, much plainer than the ones I had seen in the first class, and there was a slight unpleasant smell around. I could hear noise quite close; music and laughing. I followed the noise until I reached a door that was ajar. Opening it, there was a rung of steps, leading into a basement-like room, full of people. They were dancing everywhere, even on the tables. Adults and children were among them, and there was the overall smell of alcohol. But, I was already absorbed by the friendliness that was felt down here; much more than in first class. Everyone was jolly with one another, and it looked like everyone was having fun.

I descended the steps into the room, and as soon as my feet touched the floor, I was swept up into some sort of jig, which had no official steps, it appeared, and everyone just seemed to be doing their own thing. The music had a jolly beat, and I was soon able to move around with everyone else, dancing and laughing.

When that number was over, I found a drink pushed into my hand by a man who looked as if he had had too many to drink himself. In fact, as soon as he had passed me the drink, he slumped, head first onto a wooden table.

"Now, there is no example to set in front of a young lady" said a voice from behind me.

I turned so see a young man, of around nineteen. He was smiling at me, his blue eyes twinkling. He had spoken with a slight American accent, and, at this very moment, he swept his sandy blonde hair from his face. I smiled back at him.

"Perhaps you could set a better example?" I said, joking. The man laughed. People definitely had a better sense of humour down here.

"But of course" he said, bowing low "Jack Dawson at your service, fine lady. Perhaps you would care to try our new Dry Imperial Champagne?" The man, Jack, mimed pouring out a glass of champagne, and I put down the mug of what seemed to be beer, and pretended to take a sip.

"Oh Sir, this is most wonderful, truly exquisite!" I fought back the urge to laugh, as I mimicked Lady Horsaw and her friends perfectly.

"But fine lady," said Jack "I know not of your name". I blushed a little at being called, "fine lady".

"Scarlett" I said "Scarlett Monty"

"Well then, Miss Scarlett Monty" said Jack, mock bowing again "May I have this next dance?"

I giggled, "Why, of course, Sir, I would be delighted."

Jack grinned at me, and I grinned back. The band; consisting of three drunk men, two violins and a fiddle, started up again, and Jack reached for my hand. His touch had a pleasant coolness about it, and, unlike whenever I was close to Cal, I felt extremely comfortable at his touch, and gripped his hand back, as he dragged me to the middle.

The next tune was, if possible, even jollier and rowdier than the first, and it seemed to involve being spun around a lot. Luckily for me, Jack held me tight when he spun me, unlike some unluckier women, who ended up on the floor, as their partners were too drunk. By the end, I was too puffed out to speak, but instead laughed, as me and Jack collapsed onto wooden stools.

"You are quite the dancer, Mr Dawson" I eventually managed to say, when my breath had returned.

Jack looked at me "You're not bad yourself." And we both fell about laughing again, even more when a man dropped his dance partner, and then proceeded to fall on top of her in the next dance.

"I haven't see you around before" said Jack "Which room are you in? Maybe I could pay you a visit."

I looked down at my shoes, which were now in good need of a shine.

"I am not in third class" I said in a small voice "I am servant to Mr Lovejoy and Mr Hockley. I am normally up in the first class."

Jack's eyes when wide, "Ohh" he said, dragging out the "oh" sound.

"But I should love to come down here again" I said, quickly "The people down here are wonderful, much better than those in the first class"

"Yeah" said Jack "You'd be surprised who you can meet down here". Jack was looking at me, and his blue eyes were so compelling, that I was drawn into looking back. I dragged my eyes away to a clock on the far wall. I leapt up when I saw the time; it was a quarter to midnight.

"What?" said Jack, startled, when I leapt up.

"It's late...I've got to go...Mr Lovejoy" I said, not really making any sense. I started towards the steps.

"Wait!" cried Jack. I turned.

"Will I see you again tomorrow?" he asked. I looked around the crowded room, and back into Jack's face and decided that I wouldn't miss it for the world.

"Of course" I said, smiling.

Jack smiled back at me. "Until tomorrow then, Miss Monty" he said, lapsing back into our game earlier. He leaned closer to me, and I tensed slightly. He brushed my cheek with his lips, and I felt my legs go all wobbly at his touch.

"Until tomorrow" I said, breathless.

I turned, up the stairs, to the door. I turned for one last look at the room, and saw that Jack was still looking at me.


	12. You Must Have Had Fun Last Night

How I ever found my way back to my room, I will never know. Someone had distinguished the lamps during my absence, and I crept along the corridors, feeling my way along walls blindly. But, I eventually reached what I recognised as my own door, opened it, and crawled into bed next to Freddie. However, it was a long time before I finally fell asleep. Images of the nights events kept creeping into my head; dancing and music, happiness and beer. And a man with bright blue eyes and sandy hair kept popping up too...

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because next thing I knew, Freddie was shaking me awake, and Ann was calling instructions to me. I was still tired; more so, in fact then I had been before I went to bed. My head was fuzzy as I swung myself out of bed.

"You must have had fun last night" said Ann with a sly smile.

"I...what?" I said, still not fully awake. Then I remembered, and the nights events came flooding back to me, including Mr Jack Dawson.

"Well," continued Ann "I tried to wake up for you, but it just got too late! What time did you stumble in? I saw they'd distinguished the lamps, I hope that wasn't too much trouble for you."

"Um, no. No it wasn't" I said, slowly coming to my senses "And it was about midnight, I guess" I wasn't looking forward to a day of work, I felt like I needed to go back to bed and sleep for at least a couple of days.

"So," said Ann "Did you meet anyone nice?" My face must have said it all, because she clasped her hands together, and sent me a stream of questions all at once, not pausing for me to answer them at all; what's he called? What does he look like? Is he nice? Will you see him again? You get what I mean. I told her simply that I had met somebody called Jack Dawson, and that he was very nice. At this she clasped her hands together again and made stupid "oooh" sounds.

"Though," she said, returning to being serious "I expect Mr Hockley shall not be pleased to be hearing this" She looked at me slyly,

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped.

"Oh, come on Scarlett, surely you must have noticed that Mr Hockley has an affectionate spot when it comes to you, mustn't you? I have never in all my years at work seen Caledon Hockley treat any women with the respect he treats you, and you are his mere servant. He cannot even look at you without grinning like a fool, and he will go out of his way to do things for you. Surely you can see that."

I thought for a moment about what Ann had said. Of course, it was a preposterous idea; there was no way Cal would have any feelings for me. Though, there was some truth in what she was saying; Cal was always nice to be, which didn't add up to how people said he treated his servants. And he came up deck with me on that first day. And, I could not deny that I had developed feelings for him, his smile and smooth manner were rather charming, despite my first impressions of him.

But then there was Jack Dawson, just as attractive and charming, with a sense of humour too. It looked like I would have to struggle to keep my feelings under control.

"Oh, by the way, you are to report to Mr Lovejoy at nine, something about a tour on the ship?" Ann spoke, cutting in on my thought tracks.

"What? Oh, yes" I had completely forgotten Mr Andrews offer. "Mr Andrews is giving a tour, he asked if I wanted to go"

"And Misters Lovejoy and Hockley are allowing this?" asked Ann

"Why, yes. They are going as well" I replied. Ann raised her eyebrows, and I knew what she was thinking, so I turned away from her and got ready for the day ahead.

At nine o' clock sharp, I went across the corridor and knocked before going in, this was the traditional way to enter the room, I had discovered.

The scene I walked in on was very much like the one I had seen when I first laid eyes upon Cal, all those weeks ago at Mr Lovejoy's house. Both men were smoking on couches, a thin haze appearing. However, Cal had none of the bravado that he had had when I first saw him, in fact he was rather withdrawn, and I suspected Lady Horsaw had a great deal to do with this.

He turned when I entered, getting off the couch.

"Scarlett" he said "Are you alright? I heard you were unwell last night"

Unwell? Of course! Ann had said she would cover for me; I hoped she hadn't laid it on too thickly.

"Oh, Sir, I am quite alright now, it was not really that bad last night. I hope there was nothing you needed me for, I apologise for being an inconvenience."

"Not at all" said Cal "I just hope you're alright". He was looking at me, studying my face. He looked and sounded genuinely concerned, and for a moment I felt extremely guilty, but then I remembered the wonderful evening I had had, and I felt less guilty.

"I am fine" I said, plainly "Ann said you wanted to see me?" I directed this question more to Mr Lovejoy, but couldn't help noticing a dull blush creeping around Cal's face. "About today, of course" I added, hurriedly "Not for anything else, I..."

"Stop burbling, Scarlett" said Mr Lovejoy "These women, they all talk too much, eh Cal?" Mr Lovejoy chuckled.

"Mmm" said Cal.

"Now" continued Mr Lovejoy "Are you still up for the tour today? As if you are going to be an inconvenience, then I suggest you remain here."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Cal got there first.

"She was unwell, Spicer, for God's sake! It is not an inconvenience to us!" Cal was practically shouting, and I saw Mr Lovejoy recoil.

Mr Lovejoy was looking incredulously at Cal. He turned slowly to me and said, in a small sort of voice,

"Well then, Scarlett, we shall see you here in exactly one hour. In that time, you can begin your chores to make up for the lost time"

Cal looked like he was going to speak again, so I quickly spoke up,

"Of course, Mr Lovejoy, Sir, I will be seeing you in an hour." I did a half curtsey, before speeding from the room. As I reached the door, I allowed myself a glance back into the room, and saw Cal was staring defiantly at the floor, Mr Lovejoy still eyeing him, suspiciously. 


	13. These Are Marvellous Drawings

Author's Note: Hello again! Thanks for all the continuing support; I'm glad you are all enjoying the story. Just a quick note; I watched the film again yesterday for some research and realised I had been quite unrealistic with Mr Lovejoy. Not just his personality, but also the fact that he was actually Cal's Valet, and they were not just companions. So, for the sake of this story, just have it that Mr Lovejoy is a character, who does not really have anything to do with the Mr Lovejoy in the film. Enjoy the next couple of chapters, Robyn x

After an hour of chores I returned, once more, to Cal and Mr Lovejoy's room. I tucked my coat under one arm, for it was a windy day, and I was sure we would be going up on deck.

There was silence in the room, a silence that felt particularly awkward. Cal was sitting on a low stool, his chin resting on his hands, and Mr Lovejoy was perched against a table, puffing on a cigarette again. He looked at me as I entered.

"There you are, Scarlett. We were wondering where you had got to." Mr Lovejoy said. I frowned slightly. I was not _late._

"_Terribly s_orry, Sir." I said, my voice laced with sarcasm that I do not think Mr Lovejoy heard. He turned to bustle about with some glasses and bottles.

I muttered under my breath, arms crossed, with probably a sour expression upon my face. It was only when I felt the feeling you only feel when someone is watching you, did I look down to see Cal watching me. He was smirking at me. Still annoyed with Mr Lovejoy, I snapped "What?" I immediately regretted it. Cal's smile was wiped off his face, and replaced with a look of bemused shock.

Mr Lovejoy suddenly appeared at my side, "Now Scarlett" he began "That is no way to speak to your elders. And indeed, to your betters" he chuckled "Right Cal?"

"Yes" I said "Sorry, Sir. Sorry." I added to Cal, meaning it.

Cal shrugged "Not at all" he got up of the stool and said "Shouldn't we be making a move now, we are due to meet Mr Andrews soon." I followed Mr Lovejoy from the room, Cal holding the door open for us.

We met Mr Andrews by the Cafe Parisien. He smiled at us as we walked up to him, his kind eyes twinkling.

"Good morning Mr Lovejoy, Mr Hockley" he turned to me "Miss Scarlett".

I almost laughed at being called Miss Scarlett, but stopped myself just in time, remembering that jokes were not really made in first class.

"Shall we proceed with the tour?" said Mr Andrews to Mr Lovejoy who nodded.

Mr Andrews took us around all areas of the ship, even past the locked gates of steerage. I was fascinated by the beauty of Titanic, and trailed behind, examining every inch of design and art that covered the ship. My favourite bit of the ship by far was the Grand Staircase; a beautiful specimen of architecture. Mr Andrews spent a while talking to me about it, about the design and building of such a staircase. Mr Lovejoy seemed to find it less fascinating and said

"Come along, Mr Andrews, we haven't got all day, let's go up deck". In fact, I thought, we did have all day. But we went up to the Promenade all the same.

The views from up there were extraordinary, endless miles of ocean before us. I couldn't help wondering what would happen when the ocean finished, and Freddie and I were to get off the Titanic. Would Cal and Mr Lovejoy continue to employ us? They already had a great many staff; I had seen them all at the house, and we were not that greater use to them. I also began to think of my old life, the luxurious life I had lived with my parents, in a grand house, with grand clothes. I always had whatever I had wanted, Freddie too.

I was overcome with a sudden feeling of sombreness, missing greatly my parents and old life. It felt in a different lifetime, as though I was now leading a separate life.

At this point, Mr Lovejoy told me to "Hurry along", and my thoughts were pushed to the back of my mind. Mr Andrews took us all around the top decks, and showed us all the lifeboats. I couldn't help noticing a distinct lack of lifeboats for the supposed 2229 passengers and crew on board.

I voiced my concerns to Mr Andrews, who informed me that they had planned an extra row of lifeboats all around, but people thought it would make the deck look too crowded, so they didn't put them in. He also told me not to worry, that he had built me a strong ship that was unsinkable.

As we reached the end of the Promenade, Mr Lovejoy and Cal marvelled at the views, while Mr Andrews explained more of the ships aspects. I wondered over to the railings, where you could see right down onto the third class deck, otherwise known as the "Poop Deck", due to the fact that first class dogs were taken there to do their business.

I could see many passengers down there; children were playing while parents stood around, looking out to sea. On a bench I saw a young man sketching on some paper. As I watched him, he flicked his hair from his face, and suddenly I recognised him as Jack Dawson, the man from the steerage party.

I looked behind me and saw that Cal and Mr Lovejoy were deep in conversation with Mr Andrews. I decided they wouldn't miss me for a while. I shoved my coat on, to free up my arms, and swung myself over the railings, jumping the last bit onto a ladder that down to the Poop Deck. Once on the ground I ran over to the bench where Jack was. He looked up as I got closer.

"Scarlett?" he said. Then his face broke out into a grin. "It's so good to see you again!"

"And you" I said, smiling back at him

"But, what are you doing down here, I thought you were with the first class?"

I nodded up deck, and explained about the guided tour with Mr Andrews. I took a seat on the bench next to him, and looked down at his drawings.

"Oh, Jack" I exclaimed "These are marvellous drawings" And indeed they were, sketches of people around him, drawn to the most fascinating detail.

He leaned in closer to describe them to me, and I could feel his body close to mine, our faces were practically touching. I gazed at his perfect features as he spoke, and I felt my insides melt.

"Scarlett!" I heard my name being called from the upper decks. I remembered, suddenly, where I was meant to be. Jack stopped talking and looked at me "Will I be seeing you again tonight?" he asked, his eyes looking into mine.

"I'll try to come, I promise" I said, though then briefly explained about the having to cover whenever I wasn't there, should Cal come looking for me.

I stood up, ready to go, but then Jack pulled me back, and held me in a close embrace. I hugged him back, feeling warm and safe in his arms.

"Scarlett?" That was definitely Cal's voice, and I knew I had to go. I reluctantly pulled away from Jack, calling goodbye as I raced back up the ladder, and jumped back over the railings.

I found myself face to face with Mr Andrews.

"Mr Andrews!" I said "I'm sorry, I was just, uh, I was, um..." I trailed off, realising I had no excuse to give.

Mr Andrews looked warmly and knowingly into my face and said, gently "It's ok, Scarlett. Though, if I were you, I would hurry back to Mr Hockley. He has been most disturbed by your absence." Then I could have sworn he winked at me, before heading back, calling "It's alright, Mr Hockley, I've found her!"

I found the whole affair quite amusing as I wondered over to them, insisting to them that I had been by the sun loungers the whole time, despite their insistence that they had walked by the loungers no less than three times, and not seen me.


	14. She Will Not be With Us Much Longer

Authors Note: Hi all, just a quick note to apologise for my mistake in why the Poop Deck was known as the Poop Deck. It was not because first class dogs did their business there; it was because of the French word for stern, la poupe, so it just meant the back of the ship. Thank you to CoolGirl for pointing that out in a review, and I'm sorry about that. Enjoy the chapter, Robyn x

After that, Cal rarely let me out of his sight during the remainder of the tour, always finding some excuse to walk with me, or stopping to look at something with me. In some ways, I found it quite irritating, it made me feel like a child, always being chaperoned everywhere. But, in other ways, I found it quite nice to walk alongside Cal, making general conversation about the ship.

We stopped for a while on the port side of the ship, gazing out to sea. Cal came up behind me, and stood next to me, staring out also. I leant further over, looking right out over, and Cal leant with me. I looked at him for a moment, and he looked back at me.

"Such a puzzling look you are giving me, Miss Scarlett" he said, with a smile "May I enquire as to why?"

I turned away. "Sorry" I said "It's just...no. Never mind"

Cal chuckled, "You are aware I cannot let you go without you telling me now"

I laughed back, "Okay, you've got a point there!" I laughed up at him, and suddenly noticed how close our faces were, practically touching.

"So, what is it?" asked Cal

"Why are you so nice to me?" I was surprised myself. That wasn't what I meant to ask him, though it was what I had been thinking. Cal looked taken back as well; he raised his eyebrows. I opened my mouth to explain myself, but Cal held up a hand, and I swallowed my words.

"Your question conjures up no easy answer, Scarlett" he said "Is it so perplexing for people to be nice to you?"

"Well, no" I said "But I am your servant, it is not your place to be nice to me. And people have said things..." I stopped, suddenly aware of what I was saying. I didn't want to get anyone in trouble for telling me stories of Cal.

But Cal seemed to know where I was going anyway, and a look of mingled realization and almost embarrassment crept over his features.

"People have been telling you stories of me, have they?" he said. It was my turn to look embarrassed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean..."

"Scarlett, don't worry. I hate to imagine the tales you have been told. Indeed, I have done things in the past that I have come to regret. I am by no means perfect."

Far from it, I thought, if the stories are anything to go by.

"And" he continued "As for being nice to you, let's just say you're a lucky one. I have been known to be nice in the past, you know!" He smiled down at me.

I was just about to reply, when a voice made us both whip round.

"Caledon Hockley, I have been looking everywhere for you!" It was a screechy, woman's voice. One I recognised almost instantly as Lady Horsaw's. I only had to turn round and see her big, fancy hat and dress to confirm my suspicions.

Cal grimaced as she came bustling over, and it was my time to smirk at him.

"Oh, Caledon!" she exclaimed "What on earth are you doing up here?"

"I was admiring the view with Scarlett" said Cal, simply, gesturing out to sea with his hand.

Lady Horsaw's smile vanished from her face, and for a moment she looked quite ugly and sour, "Scarlett?" she said. Then, acting as though she had just laid eyes upon me, she said, "Oh, your servant girl, of course!"

She looked down her long nose at me, a look of utter disgust on her face. For a moment I merely stared defiantly back at her, I was not going to be intimidated by this woman.

"Well?" said Lady Horsaw "What are you still doing here, girl? Clear off! Can't you see we are busy here?" I narrowed my eyes at her, arms folded across my chest. I was on the verge of lashing out, but Lady Horsaw didn't seem to get the message and continued "Of course, I don't really see why you're here at all, myself. Bit of a waste of space, aren't you? Now, clear off!"

I raised my eyes distinctively at Cal, assuming he would say something in my defence, as he had done with Mr Lovejoy. But he said nothing; didn't look at me at all. I frowned at him; even if he wasn't looking my way, I was sure he could tell the look I was giving him. I was annoyed he had been manipulated by the very presence of this awful woman, and I wasn't going to stand it any longer.

"Fine" I said, boldly, turned around, not even looking at Cal, and stalked off.

"What a rude girl!" I heard Lady Horsaw say, loudly "I do hope you shan't be keeping her long"

Lady Horsaw's voice was loud, and the wind carried it straight to my ears. Cal's voice was much quieter when he answered, with an uncomfortable, slightly embarrassed tone, but I still heard it, and his words continued to ring in my ears, getting louder and louder, long after he said them:

"No, of course not. She will not be with us much longer"

I stopped dead in my tracks. I didn't turn round, I just stopped. I wasn't sure why I was so shocked; after all, I myself had had suspicions about staying on to work for Cal. But I guess I had just lulled myself into a false sense of security, thinking that I would continue this new life, and that Cal would continue employing me.

I was surprised to find myself suddenly choked up, and struggling to keep myself from crying. The harsh reality that I would have nowhere to go, nowhere to look after Freddie. I clasped a hand to my face, and ran from the deck. I ran right by Mr Andrews, explaining to Mr Lovejoy about why there were two steering wheels, and didn't stop running until I reached the privacy of my own room, where I lay sobbing on my bed.


	15. Here She is, Sir, All Well and Safe

I was glad that Ann and Freddie were not there when I got to the room; I just wanted to be by myself for a while. I let the tears come, though I was not sure exactly what I was crying for. Was it the fact that I had nowhere to go after the Titanic docked? Or was it more that the friendship I had built up with Cal obviously meant nothing to him. I thought the second was more likely.

As I lay on my bed, Jack Dawson wandered into my thoughts. I longed to go and see him again that night, but thought it probably not wise; Mr Lovejoy would already be displeased with me for walking out on our tour. The thought that I would not be seeing Jack only made me feel sadder, and buried my head back down into the pillow.

My stomach told me it was nearly lunchtime, but I was in no mood to go and fetch Cal and Mr Lovejoy from their room. I thought, probably, that they would head straight there from the tour, so remained where I was. I longed to go and fetch myself some luncheon, but found I didn't have the strength, and my stomach continued to rumble, as time ticked on.

I don't know how long I lay there, and I think I must have fallen asleep at some point, because when I next woke, sunlight was no longer streaming through the window, and the clock told me that it was nearly four o' clock. My first thought was that I had done no chores, and was sure to get it in the neck from Mr Lovejoy. But then the morning's events came tumbling back into my head, and I felt almost sick. I flung myself back down on the bed, face down.

Then, Ann came bursting through the door, with Freddie in her arms.

"Oh, Miss Scarlett!" she exclaimed "Are you alright? Everyone has been so worried!"

"I...what?"

"Well, no one knew where you were, I asked Mr Lovejoy, but he said you vanished during the tour! I have been trying to find you all afternoon!"

"I..." I was perplexed as to why Ann had not tried the room as the first place to look for me, and was going to ask her, when she started again.

"Oh, and Mr Hockley! Gosh wasn't he worried! He said to me, he said, "Find her", and I said, "Right away sir" only, I couldn't find you!"

"But Ann" I managed to get in, eventually, "Why did you not try the room first of all? Surely that would have been most obvious, and I have been here all afternoon. I...I had a headache"

It seemed like a blasé excuse, but Ann seemed to take it in anyway. Her face was a picture of confusion, and, had it not been for the circumstances, I would have laughed out loud at her.

"The room?" she said, bewildered "You mean to say, that you have been in this room the whole time? Why! I thought this would be a much too obvious place to be!"

I smiled at her, as she got herself all flustered. I reached down to Freddie, who was clinging to my legs.

"You won't say to Mr Hockley that you were in the room the whole time, will you? I should never live it down!" said Ann

"What?" I said, only half listening, playing with Freddie's soft hair.

"Mr Hockley requested your presence as soon as I had found you. You must go at once to his room!"

"What?!?" I said, fully aware of what was being said now "Right now? No. I shan't go." I was in no mood to converse with Cal.

"Oh, but Scarlett, you must! It will be on my head if you do not go!" I looked at Ann, her eyes pleading me to go. I guessed she was right; I would go for her sake.

"Fine." I said, getting up to leave.

"I should like to go with you Miss, to take you there myself"

"Ann" I said, sighing, "It is only across the hall, I'm sure I can find my way; I do not need an escort"

I made for the door, but Ann pulled on my arm.

"Please, Scarlett, Mr Hockley, he said for _me_ to bring you to him. I simply must, otherwise I fear for my well being!"

At this point, I thought Ann was being a tad over-dramatic, but decided not to push the matter, remembering her tales of Cal, previous to when I knew him. And she was right to be suspicious of me, for I had considered sneaking off to find Jack, instead of seeing Cal.

"Very well" I said "Let's be quick then"

We crossed the corridor, where Ann knocked and went in, I followed her. In the room, Cal was pacing up and down. He stopped when we entered.

"Scarlett!" he said

"Here she is, Mr Hockley, all well and safe" said Ann. I hated being presented in such as way; like a lost child being given back to her guardian. Cal did not own me.

"Yes, thank you" said Cal, waving Ann away, and she slipped from the room, leaving me and Cal alone.

Cal was looking at me, for I could feel his stare, but I was pointedly looking blankly at the wall behind him, purposefully not looking back at him. There was silence for what seemed like hours, but, in fact, was only a few minutes, before Cal spoke.

" I do hope you are not going to make running away and going missing one of your many talents, Scarlett" he said. I was determined not to be indimidated.

"Well," I said "I do not expect to be bothering you with my, and I quote, many talents, for much longer, Mr Hockley" I was pointedly off hand.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, seeing as I _won't be here much longer_. I expect my running away and going missing shall be no one's but my own business." I looked at Cal now, for the first time, a cold, hard stare. He quickly looked away, I expect he hadn't realised I had heard his words on the deck.

"Scarlett" he began. I folded my arms. "I am so sorry. I would never have said those things, had I known you could hear"

I frowned at him "And that makes me feel better how, exactly?"

"I know. Sorry. I just meant, you know. Sorry"

I was shocked. It appeared that Cal, Cal Hockley was actually tongue tied for once. He tried again.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you that I didn't mean what I said to the Lady Horsaw?"

I looked at him "What?" I asked "You mean..."

"Yes." He said "Of course I wish you to continue working me and Mr Lovejoy once the Titanic has docked."

"Then why..." I started.

Cal sat down and gestured for me to do the same. I sat; in as gracious way I could, which turned out to be not very.

"For reasons I do not feel appropriate to explain right now, the great Lady Horsaw has developed a particular dislike to you"

I took this in, true I did not like the women, but it was still not nice to be told that someone had a dislike for you.

"I assume you have heard that Lady Horsaw asked for my partnership, for when we arrive in New York. A request that I had to refuse, for personal reasons."

I nodded, deciding it would be best not to mention that I already knew this, thanks to Archibald Gracie.

"However, I do not wish to lose her as an acquaintance, as it is true she has great wealth. Therefore, sometimes, I have to make sure I am kept on the right side of her, if you know what I mean"

I nodded, I knew. Mother had a friend just like that, had to tread carefully around her, always telling her the things you knew she wanted to hear.

"I therefore hope you can forgive my sayings earlier. Please know that I would never say anything to upset you, despite what others may tell you"

"Of course, Sir. And, forgive me for running off like that earlier, I expect it put you in a difficult position"

Cal smiled, "Not at all"

There was silence for a moment, before I decided I had been there long enough, and said

"I should be going now, things to do..." I got up, and Cal saw me to the door.

"Will you be fetching us for dinner?" he asked

"I expect so" I said, grinning at him, all previous hatred for the man evaporating by the second.

He smiled back, and I went back into my room.


	16. What's With All the Clothes and Hair?

Ann was all curious to hear the goings on as soon as I returned.

"Did he beat you?" she said, examining my face for any signs of abuse.

"What?" I said, incredulously "Of course not!"

"Then what?" she said. Then she gasped "Have you been dismissed? Oh, do say he hasn't dismissed you!"

I had to laugh at the look of horror on her face.

"Ann" I said "I have not been dismissed, beaten or in any way treated badly. Mr Hockley merely wanted to know my whereabouts this afternoon"

I had chosen to keep mine and Cal's conversation to myself, remembering once again Ann's tendencies to spread gossip of any kind. I also chose not to tell her what I had overheard Cal telling Lady Horsaw; after all, it was irrelevant now.

I spent what was left of the afternoon running various errands, to make up for my lost time. I did run into Mr Lovejoy at one point, and worried momentarily, but he seemed to have not noticed my abscence from the afternoon, of if he had, he chose not to mention it.

It was nearly time to collect them for dinner, when I decided to put Freddie into bed, as he must have had a tiring day with Ann, I knew she made him work hard for a boy of only six. But, to my annoyance, he was not in the room when I returned. Ann was, however, and when I enquired as to where Freddie was, she said she'd thought he was with me.

Slightly worried, though not overly, as there were only so many places he could be on the ship, I started pacing the corridors, searching for Freddie.

"Freddie?" I called, here and there.

I started walking quicker, looking wildly around. I turned suddenly around a corner, and walked right into someone. I looked up to see a very smartly dressed man, with sleeked back blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Oh, excuse me Sir, I'm so sorry! I just didn't see you there..." I trailed off, I recognised those blue eyes...

"Jack?" I said "Is that you?"

"It sure is" said the man, who I now recognised (if only a little) as Jack Dawson. "And, unless my eyes are deceiving me, you are the dazzling Scarlett Monty"

I blushed a little, "Well..." I said. "Listen, if you don't mind me asking, what's with all the clothes and hair?"

"What?" said Jack, pretending to be offended "You mean you don't like my new gentleman look?"

I laughed.

"I am to be dining with your man, Mr Hockley tonight"

"You are dining with Cal?" I said.

"Yep" said Jack "And Lovejoy too. Had to dress up for the occasion"

"But, why are you having dinner with them? Sorry to be rude, but Cal doesn't often make dinner dates with men any lower than first class"

"Well, let's just say I helped him and his missus out earlier today. I guess this is a payment"

"Wait a second" I said "His missus? Cal doesn't have a partner" I said hurriedly.

"Well, they were together on deck today, a tall women, big hat, long nose"

Of course. Lady Horsaw.

"Oh. Right. Her. Well, I don't think they are together actually" I said, matter-of-factly.

"Scarlett?" I heard my name called, and turned to see Freddie. I had completely forgotten about looking for him.

"Oh, Freddie!" I said "I have been looking everywhere for you!"

I turned to Jack, "Jack, this is my brother, Freddie. Freddie, this is Jack Dawson"

"Pleasure to meet you, Sir" said Jack, bowing low. Freddie giggled. I could always count on Jack to make a joke, unlike all the other men around here.

"Where did you get your fancy suit anyway?" I asked, hoisting Freddie up into my arms. "You don't seem like the type of man to carry a suit around with him"

"You're right with that one!" chuckled Jack "No, a most charming lady named Molly Brown took pity on me when I turned up in my slacks. She leant me the suit, and, well, gave me a few pointers if you know what I mean"

"Molly Brown?" I said, I had seen her around; a plump woman with a kind face. "What was she doing with a man's suite? I thought she was travelling alone."

"She is" explained Jack "She was bringing her son this suit. Perfect fit, eh?"

"Indeed" I said.

Somewhere, far off, I heard the bugle sound for dinner.

"Oh gosh!" I exclaimed, I must be going to fetch Cal now, would you like to come too? Then you could all go down together."

Jack flashed me a dazzling smile "That sounds like an excellent idea to me"

I led Jack down the corridor, carrying Freddie in my arms. When we reached the door to my room, I told Jack I would only be a few moments, and went to put Freddie into the bed. Luckily, Ann was there, and I asked her if she would put Freddie to bed for me, which she said she would.

"And who is that charming stranger out there, Miss Scarlett?" she asked, nosy as ever.

I raised an eyebrow at her "That, is Mr Dawson. He is to dine with Mr Hockley tonight"

"Dawson? You are not telling me that he is the man you met down in steerage?"

"The very same" I said, watching in amusement as Ann's eyes went like saucers.

"I shall return shortly" I said.

I rejoined Jack, and went across the hall to collect the others.

Cal and Mr Lovejoy were dressed in their best. I addressed them as I entered.

"Mr Lovejoy, Mr Hockley, Sirs, may I introduce Mr Dawson, he said he is to dine with you tonight. If you are ready, I suggest we go down now"

"Dawson?" said Cal, sounding astonished, and slightly amused "Remarkable, you could almost pass for a gentleman" He smirked, and I frowned at him, but I don't think he noticed.

"Almost, Sir" said Jack. I couldn't help but grin at him.

I lead them all down to the Dining Saloon, where we were greeted by a great number of people who would also be dining with them; Archibald Gracie, Molly Brown, Mr Andrews and a great number whom I did not recognised. I was most annoyed to see Lady Horsaw there as well. I scowled at her as she came over.

"Caledon, darling!" she said in a voice that was slightly nauseating. "Lovejoy, pleasure as usual. And...uh..." she stared as Jack, as if trying to remember his name. I decided to help her out.

"Lady Horsaw, what a pleasure to make your acquaintance again" I put on a sickly voice I hoped would never come out of my mouth again "May I introduce Mr Jack Dawson? Apparently he was of some great help to you earlier today" I beamed, falsely at her.

"Mr Dawson? Of course! My pleasure, thank you again for your assistance earlier" She smiled falsely, and then wondered off, scowling, sure to greet some other rich people.

Mr Andrews came over.

"Good evening, Mr Andrews" I said

"Evening, Scarlett" he smiled at me. I turned to Mr Lovejoy.

"Shall I leave you to it then?" I said.

"Yes, yes!" boomed Mr Lovejoy, already heading over for what would undoubtedly be a hilarious joke with Archibald Gracie "Don't forget to come and collect us though!" As if I would!

He chortled, and wandered off, Cal promptly following suit, after giving me a quick smile.

"Have fun, Mr Dawson" I said, curtseying. He looked nervous. I reached up, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You'll be fine" I whispered, "If Cal can do it, you certainly can. They all love money, so act like you own a gold mine, and you'll be just fine"

At this point Jack smiled at me, said "I shall see you later" and walked into the Dining Saloon.


	17. I've Got Some Competition

Author's Note: Hello everyone again! Thanks to all those who have reviewed, I love reading your feedback. Please continue to review, I really would appreciate it. It is my 16th birthday tomorrow, so I will probably not write anymore, sorry, but there should be more up soon. Robyn x

I returned to the Dining Saloon after checking Freddie was alright and shining my shoes. I could see I was a little early, and peered in through the glass in the door.

I could see everyone; all sitting around the same large table. I could see Cal next to Lady Horsaw, looking extremely bored and uncomfortable as she yapped away. I could see Archibald Gracie and Mr Lovejoy laughing exuberantly over what I was sure was a hilarious joke. Molly Brown was talking to Jack, and I was glad to see he was smiling with her. I guessed he must have been nervous, after all it wasn't every day that you dined with people several times richer than you, but he seemed to be quite comfortable next to Molly Brown.

Then, Cal stood up, closely followed by the rest of the men. I guessed they would now be ready to leave. Jack got up, and followed them out of the room, kissing Molly Brown's hand as he left the table.

I greeted them all outside.

"Ah, Scarlett" said Mr Lovejoy "Myself and Mr Hockley are headed over to the first class smoking room for a bit of socialising. Perhaps you could escort Mr Dawson here back to the third class?"

"Of course, Sir" I said. I looked to Jack and he winked at me, grinning. I smiled back. Cal obviously saw this gesture, because he eyed me suspiciously and said,

"Perhaps _I _should make sure Dawson gets back to steerage". He looked at us both and I fixed what I hoped was nonchalant look of innocence on my face.

"Nonsense Cal!" boomed Mr Lovejoy "Scarlett is quite capable of seeing him down deck! Now, let's get on to the smoking room without further ado!" And, with that said, Mr Lovejoy placed a hand on Cal's shoulder and steered him in the direction of as group of people, presumably heading for the smoking room as well.

As they wandered away, Cal continued to look suspiciously back at us, so I decided, on impulse, to wave back at him. It was only afterwards that I thought what huge mistake that could have been. But, luckily for me, Cal just looked slightly startled by my gesture, and also slightly embarrassed, as if, possibly, he hadn't realised I could tell he was staring.

Jack let out a low whistle. "Sheesh" he said "You've got that guy wrapped around your little finger, haven't you?"

"I beg your pardon?" I said, astounded, I did not have anybody wrapped around my little finger, least of all Cal.

Jack flashed me a knowing smile, before pulling me close and saying,

"Well, let's just say I've got some competition to win over your heart, Scarlett"

"Don't be absurd!" I said; though I was finding it hard to concentrate with Jack's face so close to my own. And, I was starting to believe what everyone was saying about Cal's feelings for me, it seemed like the only logical reason for his actions and behaviour. I couldn't start to comprehend _why_ he had feelings for me, but I guess you can't help the way your heart goes. Like mine at the moment was beating extremely fast, as Jack looked at me out of his beautiful blue eyes.

Jack smiled "Just saying" he said.

I held out my arm, "Mr Dawson" I said "It would be my pleasure to escort you downstairs"

"Oh, please" said Jack, linking my arm, "The pleasure is all mine"

I loved the walk down to steerage, loved the feeling of being on Jack's arm. I only wished I was dressed as finely as he was. I wondered wildly, whether, if that had been the case, if people would believe us to be together as a couple. I started walking with my head held high, imagining myself in a fine dress and shoes, walking with my fiancée, Jack Dawson, angels singing, flower petals being thrown...

"What are you doing?" Jack's voice interrupted my daydream. The angels scattered, and the petals evaporated.

"Uh...nothing." I said, unconvincingly. Jack gave me a look which told me I had not fooled him, so I told him. Though, not the bit about him being my fiancée and angles singing and petals being thrown. I thought that might make him feel uncomfortable, so I merely said I was imagining being in fine dress, accompanying him more as a partner, and not as a servant.

To my relief, Jack laughed, and went along with it, holding his head held high; the picture of a perfect gentleman.

All too soon, we reached the gates of steerage. I could hear laughter and noise from below decks. I longed to go down and join in, but knew I must return to the suite before Cal and Mr Lovejoy got there first.

Jack turned to me. "You know," he said "I think you'd look mighty fine in one of them fancy dresses, but I think you look beautiful just the way you are"

He then turned and kissed me. Not the sort of kiss you'd expect from a relative, or new acquaintance, the sort of kiss that carries on feeling long after you have pulled away. My whole body felt all tingly, and my heart was racing. But, at the same time, I felt so relaxed and at peace, in Jacks arms. I wound my arms around his neck, and kissed him back, passionately.

We broke apart. Jack said "Have you ever kissed a boy before, Scarlett?" I shook my head, I had to admit I hadn't, my father had been very strict about the boys I was to see.

"You're a natural" he said, grinning. I wanted this moment to last forever, but Jack was already heading through the gates; we were to go our separate ways.

"Goodnight Scarlett" said Jack "Thank you for escorting me here"

"Goodnight Jack"

I stood for a long time after Jack had left, staring at where he had stood, before I slowly turned, and headed back to first class.


	18. My Heart is Elsewhere!

I fell asleep almost immediately that night, my last thought was of Jack's grinning face, and the feeling of his lips on mine...

I woke up early, feeling refreshed. I decided to take an early stroll along the Promenade, as the clock on the mantelpiece told me that there was plenty of time before my chores would begin. I dressed quickly, shrugging on my coat to protect myself from the morning chill. After checking quickly on Freddie, who was still fast asleep, and on Ann, who was also snoring contently, I left the room, closing the door softly as I went.

As I stepped into the corridor, an unusual noise met my ears; I could hear voices that appeared to be coming from Cal and Mr Lovejoy's room. As I drew closer, making sure to be quiet, I could tell that the voices were raised, and sounded angry. There seemed to be some sort of argument going on. I was just about to hurry on, deciding it wasn't my place to listen in, when I heard my name mentioned, and I stopped dead in my tracks. I moved cautiously towards the door, where the voices were even clearer.

"...you can't, it's too dangerous" That was Mr Lovejoy, and there was nothing humorous in his tone this time.

"Don't you think I know the seriousness of the situation?" Cal's voice sounded out.

"Then why-"

"Because I can't! I won't marry her when my heart is elsewhere!" Cal's voice made my heart strain, he sounded so desperate. Mr Lovejoy didn't seem to share my sympathy.

"Elsewhere? And where might that be then, Cal? Eh? With that pathetic excuse for a servant girl?" There was the sound of breaking glass, and I realised with a jolt that Mr Lovejoy was talking about me. For a moment, I burned with humiliation and anger, a pathetic excuse for a servant girl? But then the matter at hand came crashing down, and I realised what was being said.

Mr Lovejoy was speaking again, "Lady Horsaw is a perfect match for you! She would ensure yours and your business' survival. Now why can't you-" There was more sound of breaking glass.

"Haven't you ever been in love, Lovejoy?" This cut me deep. I swallowed what appeared to be a rather large lump in my throat. Cal didn't want to marry Lady Horsaw because he was in love with someone else. And that someone else, was me.

I distinctly heard Mr Lovejoy snort, "In love? With her? Get real, Cal, she's much too young for you. And too poor, for want of better things." He sighed "I knew I should never have brought her to work with us" At this point, I recognised the sound of someone making towards the door, and I knew I would have to work swiftly to avoid being caught eavesdropping. I leapt from the door and behind a large flower pot, that I had never really noticed before, but was now glad for the ideal hiding spot. I covered myself just in time, for, at that moment, I saw Cal sweep out of the door, and down the corridor.

He looked extremely angry, for one thing, but, was I mistaken, or did he also look a little upset? I felt enormously uncomfortable at that thought. Luckily, he walked on by, giving my flower pot disguise as much notice as I had given it for the most of the trip.

Without another moment's hesitation, I crawled out, and headed straight back to my room, all ideas of a morning stroll abandoned.

I mulled everything over for at least an hour, sitting on my bed, and came to no conclusion, though after I did wonder what it was I was trying to conclude about. I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts, I did not notice Ann stir from her bed. I only looked up when she said

"Penny for them"

"I-what?" I said

"Your thoughts. Penny for your thoughts. You're obviously thinking a lot, it looks like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders!"

Perhaps not the weight of the world, Ann, I thought, but certainly the weight of a rich man named Cal Hockley. I sighed, I wished I could confide in her, then at least I could share my woes, but I was sad to say, that I didn't feel I could trust Ann with this information. I was also, not worried, but hoping that I had got the complete wrong end of the stick of the argument, but this seemed unlikely.

All too soon, I had gotten Freddie up and dressed, and it was time to report to Mr Lovejoy and Cal. I wasn't sure I would be able to face them, I was sure I would give something away that I had heard their conversation earlier.

As I entered the room with Ann, it felt like you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. It was extremely frosty, and though, both Cal and Mr Lovejoy were in the room, they were not looking at each other; both appeared to be purposefully looking at the walls. Gone was Mr Lovejoy's constant stream of hilarity, that, at the time I had found annoying, but now longed for. There was a silence in the room that made the hairs on the back of my neck creep up. The silence was only broken when Ann said, "Good morning, Sirs" and I was reminded of why I was actually there in the first place. I hastily said good morning, that was not returned by either of the men in the room. By the look on Cal's face, the morning was about as far away from being good as possible.

I stole a look at Cal's face, and was reasonably happy to see that he had calmed down from earlier; though I was mildly alarmed at how subdued he appeared. Mr Lovejoy turned to me, "You are to take this telegram to the post room" I nodded, taking it from him, another business note, it appeared. "Immediately" he added, his voice no longer laced with jolliness, but stern and commanding. I nodded again, not willing myself to speak. I turned, and quickly exited the room.


	19. Her Hat Filled The Entire Doorframe

I kept out of Cal's way for the most part of the morning, choosing to run errands outside of the suite, rather than remain there. I noticed that he was getting more and more agitated every time I re-entered the room and Mr Lovejoy kept shooting him dark looks.

I was on my way back to the suite, with plenty of time to take Mr Lovejoy and Cal down to lunch, when a noise from their suite made me stop dead. It was the unmistakeable sound, of crying. And it wasn't quiet, contained crying either, but harsh sobbing. I poked an eye through the keyhole, which didn't reveal much. However, as I altered my position, it felt like an ice cube had slipped down into my stomach as I realised it was Cal who was crying.

His head was in his hands, his body shaking with his sobs. It was not a pleasant sight, and I felt like I was intruding on something I shouldn't be; it was all so wrong seeing Cal this way.

"And _what_ might someone like you be finding so interesting behind Mr Hockley's keyhole?" Came a voice that made me start, and stumble away from the door. I whipped round to see possibly my least favourite person in the world right now; Lady Horsaw.

"Oh!" I said, nervously "I was just, err, looking for, um..." I trailed off, realising I didn't really have an excuse.

"I know exactly what you were looking for" she hissed "And let me tell you, girl, that if I catch you laying eyes on _my _fiancée again, I'll make you wish you'd never been born. Understand?"

"Of course, yes!" But then something registered in my head. "Wait" I said "Your _fiancée? _Cal isn't marrying you!"

Lady Horsaw gave me a slide smile "What, you think he's going to marry _you?_ Get real, child, this is reality, of course Caledon will marry me, it will ensure his survival as a respectable man. And, whilst we're on the subject, as soon as the marriage is done, you and your scrawny brat of a brother will be dismissed faster than you can say, I do"

She glared menacingly down at me, and I opened my mouth to retaliate, when I suddenly found the door pulled out from behind me, and I toppled into the room. I closed my eyes, ready for the crash as I hit the ground, but it never came. Instead I found strong arms catch me, moments before I hit the floor.

I opened my eyes, and found myself staring into the face of Cal. His eyes looked a little red, though there was a look of mild surprise and humour on his face. I hurriedly stood up, suddenly feeling extremely hot and flustered. Without looking him in the eye, I stammered out an apology.

Cal, looking slightly amused, looked past me and saw Lady Horsaw, her hat filling the entire doorframe.

"May I ask" he said, eventually "What two fine ladies, such as yourselves were doing hanging around outside my suite door?"

I looked at Lady Horsaw, and could see she was furious as me having been called a fine lady. I couldn't help but smirk. I wondered briefly is she was going to do me in for looking through the keyhole. But I decided that I didn't really care if she did.

But, instead, she gave a high pitched laugh, that I was sure only dogs could hear, and swept towards Cal.

"Oh, Caledon, _darling, _I was just passing, and I happened to meet your charming servant girl in the corridor" she said, putting extra emphasis on the word "servant girl".

"So we just decided to have a pleasant little chat? Isn't that right, Susie?" she said, in a completely false sickly sweet voice.

"Scarlett" said Cal.

"What?" said Lady Horsaw, in the same voice.

"Scarlett" repeated Cal "Her name's Scarlett."

"Oh!" said Lady Horsaw, giggling stupidly again, but this time there was slight look of annoyance in her eyes "Of course! Of course! Scarlett, wonderful!"

And then to my upmost horror, she placed an arm draped in expensive lace and silk over my shoulders and pulled me close to her. I tried to wriggle free, but she had an annoyingly tight grip on me.

"_Such _a wonderful girl" she said.

Cal's eyes flickered from my face of bewildered disgust to Lady Horsaw's false, beaming one. He raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed" he said.

He turned away and I used the chance to step smartly away from Lady Horsaw. She gratefully lowered her arm, and then looked at it as if she had contracted some sort of horrible disease. She bustled forwards to Cal.

"Well, anyway" she said, importantly "I have an invitation for you, that I am sure you will accept!" Cal looked unconvinced, though Lady Horsaw continued, oblivious. "I am holding dinner tonight in the Dining Saloon, and some _very _important people are going to be there. It's only for the best, none of that," she turned pointedly to look at me "riff-raff." She shot me a dark look before saying brightly "So, I'll be seeing you at seven?"

"No" Cal's response was short, and even _I _was surprised at his bluntness. So, apparently, was Lady Horsaw.

"What?" she said, incredulously.

"I said, no. I've got very important things to do tonight. I cannot afford to waste time sipping champagne with the John Jacob Astor's."

Lady Horsaw gave a nervous laugh, but leaned in closer to talk in hushed tones to Cal, so that I couldn't hear. I was just thinking about making a sharp exit when Cal's voice exploded from the other side of the room.

"No!" he said, loudly "I will not! It is most important that I remain in tonight, I have spent far too much time socialising when I should have been working, I have my business to think of!"

Lady Horsaw muttered something non-descript.

"Yes!" said Cal, angrily "Marrying you _would _ensure the business' survival, but it is a shame that marrying you is the last thing I want to do!"

I felt bemused and nervous as I looked from one angry face to another. I wondered what had given Cal this new found anger, and ability to stand up to Lady Horsaw. Thankfully, there was a knock at the door. Pleased for the distraction, I sped over to get it.

I opened the door, and was surprised to see the young porter who had greeted me on the first day. But I was sad to see his toothy grin was nowhere to be seen.

"Terribly sorry, Miss, but we have to bring this young miscreant to your attention. He's been trying to sneak onto first class, he has, claims he knows you fine people."

And with that the porter reached behind and dragged forward a second porter, who, to my dismay was holding a struggling Jack.

"Scarlett!" he said when he saw me "I wasn't, I swear, I just had to see you, I..." he trailed off as Cal made an appearance in the doorway.

"What seems to be the problem here?" he said in his familiar, smooth manner, having calmed down from seconds before. Then he properly focused on Jack. "Dawson?" he said.

"Oh, so you know this man, Mr Hockley?" said the porter, suddenly sheepish. "Only he was requesting an appearance with a Miss Scarlett Monty, that'll be you Madam?" he said to Lady Horsaw, who had suddenly decided to appear at my shoulder.

"Absolutely not!" she exclaimed, as though the idea of being me repulsed her.

"_I'm_ Scarlett" I said " And yes, we do no Mr Dawson here, he dined with us yesterday, didn't he Cal-uh, Mr Hockley, sir?" I added, hastily.

But Cal was looking from my face of eagerness to Jack's face of guilt, before saying, slowly.

"Good sir" he said, addressing the porter "Kindly escort Mr Dawson here back to steerage and see that he stays there." He tucked a few notes into the porter's pocket, and his toothy grin was restored.

"Right away, Sir, it will be our pleasures to do such duties for you, you will not be seeing this man again!"

"Wait, no!" I said, as Jack struggled to get free "Stop, don't!" But the porters were already dragging Jack out the room and down the corridor.

I turned to Cal immediately. "What did you do that for?" I demanded, forgetting all mannerisms.

"Young lady" snapped Lady Horsaw "Remember who you are talking to! As I was saying, Cal, children have no respect for their elders..." She went off on another of her rants about "young people of today"

"What did you do that for?" I said again "He wasn't doing anything wrong!"

I saw a look in Cal's eyes, though I wasn't sure exactly what it was. It was sort of mingled hurt and confusion.

"Mr Dawson holds a third class ticket and is therefore not allowed to set foot on any other part of the ship, I-"

"You let him on yesterday!" I said

"Yesterday, Mr Dawson was here by invitation. Today, however..."

"Well, how about _I_ invite him then? I could-"

"No" said Cal, shortly "Now, I shall hear no more talk of Mr Jack Dawson." He turned away as if that settled it.

I muttered something under my breath about how Jack was better than Cal would ever be, and was just pondering over going to see Jack that evening, when Cal whipped back round.

"Oh, and Scarlett, I have a job for you this evening, you and your brother. Kindly report to my room as seven."

I glowered, but nodded, before Cal turned back to Lady Horsaw, presumably to continue their discussion from earlier. I took this as my cue to leave, and darted from the room.


	20. We've Struck an Iceberg, Ma'am

I made sure I went across the hall to Cal's suite at precisely seven o'clock, to avoid yet another comment about my lateness. Freddie was less than willing to come with me, whining about how it was he had to come as well. I'd argued with Ann as well. Something I always hated doing.

She had been less than sympathetic when I had briefly told her the events of the morning, leaving out some of the finer details that I felt she didn't need to know, however much I knew she would love to hear them. She had turned on me suddenly, calling me foolish for falling for such a man as Jack Dawson anyway.

"So what about the dazzling Mr Donald Rust then?" I had questioned, eyes narrowing.

Ann had proceeded to become extremely red and flustered, muttering something about that "being different".

In retrospect, I should probably not have then shook her violently and shouted in her face, but it is not my fault I inherited my father's hot temper.

It was only after she had fled from the room did my breathing become slower, and realization hit that, no matter what my feelings were for Jack, they were not worth losing a friend for. But by this time it was too late, and I had to make my way over to see Cal.

Mr Lovejoy was there as well as Cal when I entered the room with Freddie, though he stood up hastily as I went in.

I took a breath "Mr Lovejoy, Mr Hockley, Sirs" I addressed them in what I hoped was a polite and professional manner. Cal merely nodded and smiled to acknowledge my presence, whereas Mr Lovejoy began talking at rapid rate,

"Ah, yes, Scarlett, wonderful, oh and Freddie too, yes, simply marvellous. Well, best be going, places to be and people to meet. Goodnight all!" And with that, he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Before I had time to puzzle over Mr Lovejoy's strange behaviour, Cal was stood in front of me, peering down, looking deep into my eyes.

"Do you know why you are here, Scarlett?" he said, in a voice barely audible.

I had a few vague ideas, most of which involved punishment for my earlier behaviour, and an excuse for me not to visit Jack, but I kept my ideas to myself and merely shook my head.

"No, Sir" I said

Cal seemed surprised, and possible also slightly annoyed at my response; I suppose he had wanted me to give him some sort of witty answer. He straightened up, and cleared his throat, awkwardly.

"Well" he said "I've got an abundance of dirty shoes that will need shining and polishing by tomorrow morning. You will find the shoes and anything else you may need by the fire. I have a large amount of work to be doing, so please do not disturb me." Cal finished in a surprisingly professional and swift manner. "Understand?" he said

I nodded. "Of course, Sir"

Cal strode over to his desk, which I was irritated to find was actually in very close proximity to the fireplace, where several pairs of shoes seemed to have been dumped in a pile, along with a few cleaning cloths and polish. I didn't even know Cal and Mr Lovejoy possessed that many pairs of shoes.

I settled myself and Freddie down on the hearth, and briefly gave my brother a lesson in polishing shoes. Before too long, we were well away with the work load, but every time I thought we were nearing the end, Cal would lean down from his chair and inform me that our work was not up to scratch.

Minutes ticked by like hours, hours ticked by like days. Freddie fell asleep right on the floor, clutching a dirty cleaning cloth to his face. It must have been getting late, but if Cal realised this, he chose not to mention it.

I felt my eyes beginning to droop, shiny surfaces of shoes blurred in front of me. But then, something strange happened. A faint grinding jar seemed to come from deep inside the ship. It was not much, but enough to make me look up from my work. Cal, too, looked up from his paper, and our eyes met briefly, before I hurriedly looked back down at the floor.

My mind pondered over what this grinding jar could have been. I tried to connect it with something familiar. It seemed to me as if the ship had just rolled over a thousand marbles. Then, when I had thought a little more, I decided perhaps that was not the right analogy, and maybe a giant running his finger along the ship was a better one.

The jar had left a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that something wasn't quite right, but Cal had continued with his work, so I guessed there was nothing to worry about.

But there was something else not quite right in the room. The gently vibrations beneath me from the ship's engines were gone. After the grinding had come to a stop, there was an eerie stillness about the room; I had grown quite accustomed to the movement beneath us.

Again, I looked to Cal for some sort of indication, but he was busy scribbling away. I looked down at Freddie, asleep and blissfully unaware of the turmoil going on inside me. I began polishing methodically, trying to reason with my insides that there was nothing to worry about, the cloth going round and round.

I was just becoming slightly calmer about the whole affair; perhaps we had just slipped a propeller blade or something, when there was a knock at the door. This sudden noise interrupted my methodical polishing, and I jumped slightly.

"Come in" Cal's voice echoed around the room, which I noticed had been deathly silent before.

In came a porter; not the young ones I had seen so regularly around the corridors, but a much older one, with thick grey eyebrows that seemed to be in a constant upright position, giving him a permanent look of worry. He seemed agitated about something, and strode right over to Cal as soon as he entered the room.

He crouched down to Cal, who was sitting, and position himself with his back to be. He began talking in a hurried whisper. I found that if I shifted my body slightly to the right, I could hear snatched of their hushed conversation.

I caught the words "iceberg", "life jackets", "boat deck" and "life boats". I also distinctly heard Cal say "There's no need". At this point, the porter hissed something at Cal, stood up and straightened his jacket, and swept from the room, slamming the door.

I looked at Cal, and this time, when he looked back, I didn't look away. Cal gave me what I'm sure he hoped was a reassuring smile, but he didn't quite make it before returning to his work, though I noticed his grip upon his pen had grown tighter.

After no more than five minutes after the porter had left us, did another one appear. This one seemed even younger than the regular toothy one, and was almost shaking with the idea of speaking to a man like Cal.

"Um, excuse me, uh, Mr Hockley, uh, Sir" he stammered "But, um, your presence is required in the, err, Dining Saloon. Um, Sir" he finished.

Cal sighed, "Fine" he said, pushing his chair back and standing up. "Scarlett, do not even think about setting foot outside of this room until I get back, do you hear?"

I nodded. Cal exited the room. The porter made to follow him, but I was on my feet and next to him before he could move. I grabbed hold of his arm.

"What's going on?" I demanded to know.

"I, uh, nothing. Classified, information..." The porter began, but I wasn't having this for an answer. I took hold of his shoulders and pinned him against the wall.

"You're not leaving 'till you tell me what on earth is going on!" I glared at him, in my most menacing way. Freddie stirred on the hearth.

"Alright, alright!" said the porter, trying to shaking my grip off "We've struck an iceberg, if you's must know...ma'am?"

My grip loosened on the porter in sheer shock. I took a step back, for this was not the answer I had been expecting. But now it all added up; the grinding jar, the cease of gentle engine hum.

The porter was talking again, but my mind was too busy to hear what he said. He obviously took my lapse in concentration as a cue to bolt from the room. I didn't care anymore. I knew all I needed to know.


	21. The Titanic Will Sink

There seemed to be a small commotion occurring in the hallway, I could hear raised voices. I opened the door, and poked my head around. To my surprise, Mr Andrews was there with a pile of lifejackets, and seemed to be having a heated argument with an old couple who were dressed in their night things.

"_Please_" he was saying "Just put them on!" But the couple were not to be worn down, and Mr Andrews was having no avail. He turned round and saw me; first his face was that of joy, followed by one of the greatest sorrow.

"Scarlett," he said, hurrying up to me "Have you heard?" He seemed agitated.

"About, the iceberg, Sir? Why, yes, I have, but surely..."

Mr Andrews cut across me "You must head for the boat deck immediately, get onto a lifeboat, you and Freddie, you hear?" Then I saw it. A flash of fear across his kind eyes.

"What's the truth, Mr Andrews, Sir? I see it in your eyes, what's happening?"

Mr Andrews closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them and answering "The Titanic _will_ sink. In an hour, maybe two, she will be at the bottom of the ocean."

I put a hand to my mouth to stop my gasp escaping. A cold hand seemed to creep around my heart, forcing me to struggle to breath.

"I..." I began

"You _must_ get to a boat, Scarlett" Mr Andrews pleaded "You do remember what I told you about the boats?"

Of course I did. There were enough boats for but half the amount of people on the ship. The cold hand on my heart seemed to tighten its grip.

"Good luck, Scarlett" said Mr Andrews, formally gripping my hand in a shake, but the warmth in his voice was enough for me. I found that when he turned to go, I had tears in my eyes.

"Thank you, Mr Andrews" I said "For everything."

He smiled at me one last time, before disappearing down the corridor. That was the last time I ever saw Mr Thomas Andrews.

I walked over to where Freddie lay near the fire place, the pile of shoes discarded next to him. A few hours ago, while polishing the shoes, I had nothing to fear but how I was going to stay awake, but now, now I felt a dead weight on my shoulders, and it wasn't shifting.

Cal had said to stay in the room. I hated to think what he would do if I disobeyed him. But then, the ship was sinking, what did it matter what Cal had told me to do. Looking at Freddie, I was again reminded of the promise I had made to my mother, about looking after him. To me, that reminder of my parents was enough for me to make my mind up.

Quickly, before I could change my mind, I bent down to Freddie, and gently shook him awake.

"Freddie, wake up!"

Freddie moaned softly in his sleep. Sleepily he sat up "Is it mornin'?" he asked.

"No" I said "But we've got to be getting up now, come on Freddie, please hurry."

Freddie must have understood the urgency in my tone, for he then stood up quickly, and followed me from the room.

I hurried across to our bedroom, and it was only here that I remembered Ann. There was no way she would know about the iceberg. She didn't have my interrogating ways, nor was she likely to run into Mr Andrews. My stomach lurched uncomfortably to think of the words we had spoken last time I had seen her, felt sick when I thought of the way I had shook her and shouted at her.

Blinking away the tears that had formed at the corners of my eyes, I reasoned with myself that I would find Ann on the way to the boat deck, bring her onto a boat with me, and we could laugh over our idiotic argument.

However, as I stuffed Freddie and myself into our coats, and then shoved the life jackets over the top, I couldn't help but wonder if my visions of us laughing together in a lifeboat would ever actually come to be.

I took one last look around the room I had so loved calling my own, before exiting, pulling the door closed behind me.

The corridor was a lot busier now than before. People seemed to have the same idea as us, and were heading up the stairs to the boat deck. They were dressed in an abundance of things; from night clothes to evening suits. But everyone seemed to have the same idea to dress warmly, and so the nigh dresses had fur coats thrown over them, the evening gowns covered by button down jackets.

There seemed to be no element of fear among the people, only a general consensus of annoyance. People didn't see, to like being dragged from their beds or from their socialising. I realised that they obviously did not have the inside knowledge that the Titanic would be under water before they could return to their sleeping or poker playing.

We reached the boat deck, and I was immediately hit by a blast of freezing cold air. I had never experience the boat deck at this time of night before, and the shock numbed my face briefly.

Officers were loading up lifeboats, trying to generally organise everyone into some sort of order. People seemed unwilling to enter the lifeboats, and I could see why. Music was still being played by the band, the lights on inside the Dining Saloon, it was a much more inviting atmosphere than that of a freezing cold lifeboat being lowered into the depths of the sea.

However, I knew all too well what was going to happen, and inside was wishing these people to get onto a boat.

"Women and children only!" called out the officers. I hurried forward, hoisting Freddie onto my hip as I did so.

But the officer stuck out an arm.

"Sorry, Miss, First Class only at the moment. You'll have to wait down there with the other steerage passengers"

"But, I have a child!" I said, holding Freddie up "And I'm only sixteen!" I added, pleadingly.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but I cannot let you on until we have loaded all the women from First and Second Class."

"I have a child! At least let him on!" I tried again, desperately.

"_No." _Said the Officer, firmly, "Nobody from the Third Class is allowed to board yet. Speaking of which, shouldn't you be down in steerage anyway?" he asked suspiciously. "I've a right mind to get someone to escort you down there!"

"I am servant staff to Mr Hockley and Mr Lovejoy, I have permission to be on these parts" I said, feeling as though I had said these words time and time again.

"Hmm" said the Officer "A likely tale. Got any proof of that then, little Madam?" he asked.

I was amused to find myself dropped from "Miss" to "Little Madam". I fished in my pinafore pocket for Cal's permission card, and to my dismay found my pocket empty. I felt my stomach drop. I looked up at the officer who was smirking broadly as I rummaged in my pockets.

"I didn't think so" he said, snidely "Redcap!" he barked to another officer "Kindly escort this young lady and this little man down to steerage. And see to it that they remain there before they cause anymore disturbances up here." He turned to the boat behind him. "Lower away, boys!" he called. It was less than half full.


	22. Let's Just Try and Keep Moving

"Please don't do this" I said quietly to the officer, who was already reaching into his pockets for the keys to lock the gates to steerage.

He looked at me for a moment, and then sighed.

"I'm sorry, Miss" he said, sounding as if he truly meant it "But it was Officer Lowe's orders. I can't disobey him. I would love to help you if I could." He took out the keys and locked the gates. "I'm sorry" he said again. For a moment, I looked into his hazel eyes, willing him to see different and let me go, but he just turned away and walked up the stairs to the boat deck.

Fear swirled inside me. According to Mr Andrews, there was not much time left, what was I going to do? Then another thought hit me, what about Jack? A third class man, there was not much hope of him finding a place on a boat.

Reality hit, half the people on the ship were going to die. Would Jack be one of them? And what about Freddie and I? Hope seemed lost for us now, it seemed unlikely they would be letting steerage passengers out any time soon.

I sunk against the wall, slowly sliding down to the floor, unable to think. The terror inside me grew when I felt the cold dampness of sea water seeping through my pinafore, and, as I looked at the floor, saw water appearing on the floor.

Freddie joined me on the floor; he didn't really understand what was going on, but he sensed my feelings. I looked at him, blinking my tears away, willing myself to be brave for him. But even as he wriggled into my lap, looking earnestly up at me, I felt I was losing the battle. I pulled him close to me and held him tight, I could feel the water increasing beneath me, which was only confirming my fears. I closed my eyes against Freddie's body, feeling completely desperate and seeing no way out.

"Scarlett?" The voice sounded familiar, but I thought perhaps my mind was just desperate for some sort of normality.

But, as I looked up, I saw a familiar sandy haired head and blue eyes walking towards me.

"Jack? Jack!" I was so relieved to see his face and stood up and rushed over to him. He wound his arms round me, and I buried my face in his shirt, that smelt of all things familiar and safe.

"Scarlett, what are you doing down here? You should have got on a lifeboat ages ago!"

"I know, I...they wouldn't let me on, I forgot my card...Cal..." I trailed off, realising I wasn't really making much sense. Jack didn't seem to be listening anyway.

"Listen, Scarlett, we have to get out of here, fast. I've seen Mr Andrews..."

"I know, but the gates, they've locked them, we're trapped here. Wait..." I said, a thought had struck me. The gate I had passed through to get to the party, the one Ann said was always left open; she thought that porters and officers simply didn't know it was there.

"Jack, there's a gate, it's normally left open. I used it to come down here the first night I met you. Do you think it's worth seeing if it's open?"

"It looks like that's our only hope" said Jack "We haven't got much choice"

"Right" I said, not sure if Jack's answer was exactly encouraging "This way then, I think"

I was judging direction from both instinct and also from the brief time I had spent wandering the corridors of steerage after the party, which seemed like a lifetime ago, when in fact had only been two days.

I went down the corridor; one hand clutching Freddie's and the other hand in Jack's. I was uncomfortably aware of the water level beneath us. There was a splashing sound with every step. We quickened our pace, and Jack's grip on my hand grew tighter. People were rushing past us, clutching small children and belongings. I wondered briefly why they were all heading in the opposite direction to us, but I didn't have to wait long to find out.

We reached a downward rung of stairs, leading down to the very lowest decks. I remember them now from my previous journey. However, when I had seen them before, they had _not _be largely submerged in dark green sea water. I felt my stomach drop. I turned to Jack,

"But...this is the only way, I don't know another..." I turned to Jack, desperately willing him to give me some sort of miracle solution.

He looked at me, a determined look in his eyes. "Then this way we shall go"

"But how..."

"You trust me, right?" said Jack, that old twinkle returning to his eyes. I looked into those eyes that I had fallen in love with from the moment I set eyes upon them, and decided that at that precise moment there was no one I trusted more.

"Of course I trust you" I said.

Jack grinned, "Then let's do it" he said.

We descended the stairs. The water hit me like a knife, the cold water flooding into my shoes, soaking into my tights and dress, getting deeper with every step. By the bottom stair, the water was well above my waist, and I had to hold Freddie above my head to keep his head out of the water.

"Here, let me take him" said Jack. I gratefully passed him over; my arms had been starting to go dead.

I was freezing. There was no other word for it. The water was now creeping up round my shoulders as we inched forward along the lower corridor. We moved slowly, our sodden clothes weighing us down and the cold numbing my legs.

Then, without warning, the overhead lights above us flickered off. Darkness flooded the corridor, the only thing I could see clearly was the fog of breath coming from our mouths. I could hear Freddie whimpering on my right.

"Jack..." I breathed, scared.

"It's alright" said Jack "Let's just try and keep moving."

Jack had a point, the water level was rising, and it was becoming a struggle to keep my head above the surface, the quicker we reached the stairs on the other side the better.

After what seemed like an eternity in darkness, my feet felt steps underneath them and I could see light in the corridor above us. It illuminated Jack and Freddie and I saw that they were both as soaking as I was.

We climbed the stairs, water pouring off us. I was relieved to be out of the water, but our troubles were not over yet. I could distinctly feel the tilt of the ship, a sign that we had to hurry. Racing along the corridor, I was distressed to see nobody, was that a good sign? That people had got out? Or was it the more likely case that people were trapped on the other side, with nothing but locked gates and guards.

To my absolute relief, we reached the gate and found it unlocked, and I counted our stars that Ann was right about the officers simply not knowing it was there. Water was now trickling back over my feet, and we splashed through the gates and up the staircase to the boat deck.

There was now a much higher atmosphere of panic on the boat deck. Previously, people had been relaxed, even discussing the option of returning to their rooms. Now, however, people were screaming, children were crying and everyone was rushing about in blind panic, trying to get on boats, arguing with officers to let them on.

Jack put his arm around me, one arm still supporting Freddie, who was looking absolutely terrified, clinging on around Jack's neck.

"Women and children only!" came the calls from the officers. I turned to look at Jack.

"I'm not leaving without you" I said, defiantly. I think Jack knew I couldn't be persuaded otherwise, for he nodded.

Suddenly, a figure rushed up to me, draped in layers and layers of luxurious silks and lace. I recognised her immediately as Lady Horsaw. Despite the current situation, I still felt a strong dislike for the woman, and in no mood to converse with her. But she seemed in great distress.

"Scarlett, oh Scarlett! You must help me! Please say you will come with me!" She sounded genuinely upset, so I decided to give her a chance.

"Help with what, Miss Horsaw?" I enquired.

"Oh! In the lower decks, you must, just come on!" And Lady Horsaw gave me no further explanation, but merely grabbed a hold of my arm and began dragging me back inside.

Jack made as if to follow, but I called out to him, "It's okay, you stay there with Freddie, I won't be long!"

Jack looked unconvinced but I gave him a reassuring smile; there was no point him coming too, I doubted if Lady Horsaw's problem was really that big at all. She had probably left her hat in her bedroom or something.

But Lady Horsaw did not lead me down to the first class suites, she was pulling me down the stairs, we kept going further and further, until my feet were submerged in water once again. I began to feel uneasy; I had just narrowly escaped the water before, I didn't want to be going back into it.

I tried to voice my concerns to Lady Horsaw, who wasn't loosening her grip on my arm at all, but she wasn't listening. She just kept up a stream of sentences, "We must go, you must help, just a bit further, you must help me" all the way until we reached a door in a corridor that I judged by the number of stairs we had come down, was on E Deck.

She pointed to the door, letting go of my arm. "In there" she said. I looked at her doubtfully; there seemed nothing wrong with the door, nor could I hear anything from within.

"The trouble is in there!" she said, her voice rising uncontrollably at the end. I decided I would take a look, considering she was so distressed.

I opened the door, expecting to see something awful and disturbing, but was instead faced with what seemed like an ordinary room, with a desk and several cupboards and chairs in. The only thing unusual was the two feet of water making everything float about somewhat. I could not see what the problem was.

"I don't see anything..." I began, but didn't finish, as, as soon as I started speaking I felt two hands on my back and was shoved roughly into the room. It took me by surprise, and I ended up falling into the pool of icy water. Hurriedly standing up, I realised I was too late. The door had shut, and I heard the click of a lock.

I raced to the door, twisting the doorknob is every possible direction, but it was no use. Lady Horsaw had tricked me, and I had fallen for it and was now locked in a room of a ship that was rapidly sinking.

Then, I heard Lady Horsaw hiss through the key hole,

"That'll teach you to mess with the great Lady Horsaw! You will never see _my _Caledon Hockley ever, ever again! In fact, you will never see anybody again, you stupid, impertinent girl!" And with that, I heard her walk away from the door.

Too stunned to really take in what she had just said, I looked desperately around for some assistance. When I was met with none, I felt tears of frustration and fear pricking at my eyes. I could feel the water rising beneath me, it was now at my knees.

I waded back over to the door, and began pounding on it, for lack of anything else that seemed productive.

"Help!" I called "Somebody please help me!" Over and over again, I called and banged on the door, but nobody came. I could hear nothing from the corridor outside; I guessed most people had made it onto the boat deck by now. I could feel the tilt of the ship even stronger now, the furniture in the room was sliding to the left, as the water continued to rise.

I don't know I long I stood, shouting and hitting the door, I could only judge by the rising water level. Before too long, it was above my waist, and I was struggling to stay upright, as my legs had gone completely numb.

"Help me!" I croaked out, one last time, before crumpling against the wall, feeling exhausted and desperate. It was the thought that I would die here, in this room, never seeing Freddie, or Jack or Ann again, that made the tears that had been threatening to fall for while, pour out. I slouched sobbing, and ice cold water rushed over my body.

Then, BANG!

Something heavy seemed to hit the door from the outside corridor. From instinct, I stood up, staring at the door apprehensively.

BANG!

There it was again. I had stopped crying now, intrigued at the door.

There was one final, almighty crash from the corridor, and the door came completely off its hinges, splashing into the room. And, wading into the room, sopping wet and wearing a look of pain and worry, which quickly turned to relief when he saw me, was Caledon Hockley.


	23. It Was Exactly How I had Dreamt It

Hey guys, Robyn here, just to let you know I appreciate all the reviews and feedback I've been getting, and I'm really glad everyone is enjoying the story. Just to say, that this chapter is from Cal's POV. I chose to do this, because I feel it is necessary for the reader to gain information of the events, that Scarlett would not be able to witness, reasons for which will be revealed in the chapter. This will probably be the only time I do this, so don't worry, and I apologise if it's not my best.

Thanks, Robyn x

This was my entire fault. I should have just accepted Lady Horsaw's marriage proposal in the first place. I shouldn't have let my heart run away with me. For it was my love for Scarlett that fuelled Lady Horsaw's jealousy to such evil.

Love. And that was what it was, I realised, looking at Scarlett, her soaked clothes and bedraggled hair, but still feeling the strong desire to hold her in my arms forever. It was unusual, I had never felt such emotion towards a female before. Women were constantly throwing themselves at me, but I had not once felt their desires in return.

It was different with Scarlett though. From the moment I laid eyes upon her, I wanted her to be mine. Of course, I quickly realised that I couldn't be too obvious about this, I could tell she was wary of me. Getting her to like me was going to be difficult. I had to win her over with genuine kindness and affection. Bags of money was not going to get me anywhere with this girl. I finally thought I had achieved this; she no longer looked at me with hatred, was quite willing to return my smiles and had seemed most upset when she had thought she wouldn't be working me anymore.

But then someone had come along and ruined all my progress. Jack Dawson. I saw the way she looked at him, her eyes lighting up with a big smile on her face. My god she looked beautiful when she did that. And Dawson, well he was just the same, grinning down at her like an idiot. Just thinking about them together made anger and jealousy bubble up inside me.

Jealousy. That was what had turned Lady Horsaw to do such a thing as to lock Scarlett in a room on a sinking ship. I knew she wanted me, but I never dreamed that it would lead her to do something like this. Her intention was for Scarlett to die, and I shivered to think what would have happened if I hadn't run into Lady Horsaw, who hadn't hastened to boast at what she had done.

But that didn't matter; I was there now.

"Scarlett" I breathed, wading towards her. I didn't care what she thought now, or if she realised my feelings for her. I just wanted to hold her in my arms.

I wrapped my arms around her; feeling her warmth and breathing in her sweet scent. It was exactly as I had dreamt it. Although, in my dreams, we had not been waist deep in freezing water. But the best bit was that Scarlett was hugging me back; her arms around my waist, gripping tightly.

We broke apart, much too soon I felt.

"Are you alright?" I asked. This felt like a ridiculous question considering the circumstances, but I wasn't really sure what else to say.

Scarlett nodded. "I am now" she said, smiling at last.

"Come on," I said "We've got to get out of here, and fast."

Taking her hand in mine, we waded out of the room. The water in the corridor was flowing fast, the tilt in the ship more evident than ever. It was obvious that the water would just sweep us away, if we tried to move against it.

"What do we do now?" asked Scarlett, her voice rising above the noise of the water. She was looking at me, a pleading look in her eye, almost willing me to come up with a solution. After all, I had just saved her life, to her, I was a hero. But, in all honesty, I could see no solution to the impossible situation we seemed to be in. There was no way we would be able to walk upwards against a raging torrent of water.

But Scarlett's grip on my hand, growing ever tighter, spurred me on. I looked wildly about, and saw that there was a line of pipes running along the ceiling. Inspiration hit me.

"Look," I said "We'll pull ourselves along, and up the corridor using the piping for support. We'll be out in no time. I promise"

Scarlett looked doubtful, and I didn't blame her. What authority did I have to make such promises? But she reluctantly let go of my hand and reached out to grab a pipe. I did the same, and we began to inch forward. It was hard work. The strength of the water was immense; pressure was pushing down on us. Also, it was freezing and I could feel my legs going numb. Just moving inches forward was dragging the energy out of me. If I was feeling this way, I guessed it must be much harder for Scarlett. She was nowhere near as strong as I was. I could feel her slowing down behind me, gasping for breath at every movement.

And then, I heard a muffled shriek and a splash from behind me. I turned round in time to see Scarlett's red hair dipping below the surface.

"SCARLETT!" I yelled, willing her to come back up. But I knew the water would be too strong for her. So, I did the only thing I could think of; I plunged forward into the depths of the water.

It was so cold. Colder than I had ever felt in my life. All strength was immediately sucked from me. But I knew I had to keep going, for her sake. I could see Scarlett's body, drifting through the water. I stretched out my arms and took a strong hold of her. Using what little strength I had left, I pulled her up, and we both hit the surface. Stretching one arm out, I grabbed hold of a pipe, and using the other hand, supported Scarlett against me. Although she did seem to be breathing, she didn't seem to be conscious, and her head was lolling against my shoulder.

I don't know where I suddenly conjured a burst of energy and strength, but I was all of a sudden able to pull myself through the water one handed, dragging Scarlett with me.

After what seemed like miles, but was in fact only a few metres, I reached some stairs, and was able to, finally, descend out of the freezing water. I pulled Scarlett up into both of my arms. Her eyes were closed, but she was breathing. Her clothes were soaked, and her hair was dripping, but I still thought she looked beautiful.

Hastily ascending the stairs, a blast of cold air hit me as we reached boat deck. The wind went right through my soaked clothes, that briefly stung my body. But not for long. I realised that Scarlett seemed unusually still, and my heart nearly stopped dead when I realised that she was no longer breathing.

"Scarlett? Scarlett!"

I quickly lay her down on the floor, her body seemed lifeless.

"No, no. Come on Scarlett" I murmured softly to her, gently shaking her shoulders.

Then, I did the only thing I thought seemed right to do. I gave her mouth to mouth. I had never done such a thing before, but I thought I knew the general gist of things. Despite the circumstances, I couldn't help feeling elated at the thought that I was kissing Scarlett. Of course, this was not how I had imagined our first kiss, but still.

I breathed hard from my mouth into hers, willing her to start breathing again. And then, her eyes flickered open, and she gave a great rasping breath. I almost collapsed in relief, Scarlett was going to be ok.

"Scarlett, I..." I began

"Oi!" came a voice "What do you think you're doing?"

I looked up to see who was shouting, but was met with a fist in the face. I shouted out in pain, and recoiled over, clutching my bleeding nose.

"Just stay away from her!" came the voice again.

Through my hands and bloody nose I saw the speaker. Jack Dawson. Never had I felt the hatred and jealousy so strong as I did at that moment. In a blind fury, I lashed out at Dawson. I had never had much experience in fighting, but knew the basics. I couldn't really see what I was doing, blinded slightly by blood from my nose. I lashed out, and a dull thud and cry of pain told me my fist had found its target.


	24. There is No Room for The Girl

What was going on? I had been in a room full of water, and then, Cal had saved me. I was sure of that. But what happened after that I was not really sure. But next thing I knew, I could feel the wind on my face, and I was opening my eyes to see Cal leaning over me. And then, a fist had come flying out of nowhere, smacking Cal clean across the face. Before I even had time to see who the attacker was, Cal was back on his feet and throwing his fist at them.

It took me several moments to acknowledge what was happening; my head was feeling extremely fuzzy, but I was eventually able to scramble to my feet. When I whipped round to see who had punched Cal, expecting to find some deluded stranger, instead I was surprised to come face to face with Jack. His hand was raised as if to strike again, but before he had time to move, I put out my arm to block him.

"Jack!" I practically screamed at him "What do you think you're doing?" And then a thought occurred to me, "And where's Freddie?"

As if to answer my last question, Freddie appeared from behind Jack, ducking out of his way and climbing up into my arms.

"You just stay away from her!" said Jack, angrily, ignoring my question, and looking at Cal.

Cal took a step towards Jack, but Jack remained still. In my weeks of knowing Cal, I knew this was a dangerous move.

"I'll have you know," said Cal, in a dangerously low voice "That I have just saved Scarlett's life. If it hadn't been for me..."

"If it hadn't been for you, Scarlett wouldn't haven't have got locked in that room in the first place!" shouted Jack.

Cal flinched, and I knew Jack has hit a raw nerve. At his sentence, everything came flooding back to me properly. About Lady Horsaw locking me in, her sly remarks about how I wouldn't keep Cal from her any longer.

I blinked in disbelief as I remembered, but then brought my attention back to the matter in hand.

"Look," I said, speaking up properly for the first time, "Let's all just calm down and..."

But I never got to finish my sentence, for, at that moment, the floor seemed to lurch from underneath us, and I found myself grabbing hold of Jack's sleeve to keep my balance. People were screaming.

"What the-" I said, before clapping a hand to my mouth. In my state of fuzziness, I had momentarily forgotten that the Titanic was currently sinking.

This fact seemed to have become clear again to Jack, for he took hold of my arm, tightly.

"We have to stay on this ship as long as possible, okay?"

Due to lack of anything else to do, I just nodded. Jack nodded too, and began to move away, pulling me with him. But then I felt someone else's hand on my other shoulder.

"Scarlett..." said Cal, almost pleadingly "Come with me. I can get you on a boat, I..." Cal trailed off, as Mr Lovejoy suddenly came bustling up. His presence must have even intrigued Jack, for he stopped pulling on my arm.

"Cal!" he exclaimed "Where have you been man? Don't you know this ship is sinking!"

To me, this was a completely different Mr Lovejoy to the ones I had witnessed over my time. He was not the jokey, laughing Mr Lovejoy who had bored me to sleep with his jokes, but nor was it the stern, stony faced Mr Lovejoy that seemed to have made an appearance over the last day. No, this was a different Mr Lovejoy, whose face only displayed sure signs of fear and anxiety.

"Of course I am aware of the situation!" spluttered Cal, looking away from Mr Lovejoy and back at me.

"Well then!" said Mr Lovejoy "Come, make haste! I have a seat on a lifeboat for you! You must hurry before they leave without us!"

"But..." said Cal, with another desperate look round at me.

"Come now, Cal." Said Mr Lovejoy, a hint of frustration creeping into his voice "There is no room on our lifeboat for the girl. After all, she should really have been a steerage passenger on this ship, she is a mere servant."

"But I..." Cal began again, but Mr Lovejoy cut across him.

"Look here, Cal," he said, getting rather red in the face, a trait I noticed he had when getting angry "Unless you come with me now, your seat on the lifeboat will be taken. If you value your life, then you will follow me and leave these people." He finished, gesturing at Jack, Freddie and I, who seemed to be frozen, watching their conversation.

"I..." Cal started, but seemed unable to finish his sentence. He swallowed his unsaid words, shook his head slightly and turned to me.

"Scarlett, I'm sorry, but..." But I never got to find out the rest, for at that moment, the Titanic gave an almighty lurch, and Mr Lovejoy grabbed Cal's arm and began pulling him away from us. Cal didn't even try to resist. He just gave me one last look; was it remorse? Pity? I couldn't really tell.

When I turned back to Jack, I found I had tears in my eyes. I guessed that, when it came to it, Cal would always value his life well above anybody else's. Even above the life of the girl he claimed to love.


	25. This is Your Boat, Freddie

Hello everyone! Thank you for the continuing support, I'm sorry it's been so long, but I had exams, and then I was ill, and then I've been on holiday. So, sorry for that, but I hope everyone is still enjoying the story. This chapter includes the physical sinking of the ship, so I'd just like to apologise in advance if any of the information and facts are not correct. I'm just doing it on rough knowledge from the film. If anything is wrong, then I'm sorry. Enjoy, Robyn x

Jack gripped my hand.

"Come on, Scarlett" he said softly, encouragingly. I had been rooted to the spot where Cal had vanished behind the crowd of frightened passengers, still with a glimmer of hope that he would appear any minute.

I knew I had to move, I would die otherwise, but my feet felt like they were nailed to the floor. Jack squeezed by hand gently and said,

"It's alright, I'm here. I'll keep you safe." And I looked into his beautiful, blue eyes, and trusted him. Slowly, I nodded.

"Right," he said, jumping to his feet "We have to stay on this ship as long as possible." He began moving swiftly through the crowds, pulling me along behind him, and Freddie being dragged by me, following Jack's path.

Everyone else seemed to be having similar ideas to us, and everyone was making their way towards the Stern. I couldn't help but notice a distinct lack of children. I looked down at Freddie and a sudden thought struck me. It was alright me and Jack trying to save our own lives, but it seemed that we would also have to try and save Freddie's life, a task sure to slow us down. It seemed that whatever we were about to attempt would be made much more difficult with Freddie with us.

There was a man giving one last call for "Women and children!" and I was struck with sudden inspiration.

"Jack" I said, pulling on his sleeve "I'm going to put Freddie on a boat, I..."

"Scarlett, no." Said Jack "It's fine, we can take him-"

"Jack, listen to me. Having Freddie with us will only slow us down, I would much rather know that he was safe on a boat. Please. If we make it through this, I will go and find him again. If we don't..." My voice cracked slightly, realization hitting me, "Well, at least I'll know he's safe" I finished.

Jack opened his mouth as if to protest further, but thought better of it, and nodded.

I rushed over to the lifeboat, which was much more crowded than others I had seen. I spotted a red headed woman in the boat, clutching two small children, another, older child, holding onto her arm. I went up to her.

"Please," I said, finding sudden tears running down my face "Please, take my brother, he is only five. I wish for him to have a better chance at living."

I woman looked at me, kindly. "Of course, dear." She said, with an Irish lilt in her voice "What is his name?"

"Freddie." I choked out "His name's Freddie"

The lady smiled, kindly at him, but Freddie seemed to have realized what was going on, and was clinging on to me, and crying. I knelt down to him.

"Freddie, please. I-" A thought popped into my head. "I've got to get on another boat. This is your boat, and then I've got another boat somewhere else. And then, we'll all meet up again in America, okay?" I said, trying to smile through my tears. I hated lying to him, but it seemed the only way to convince him to get in the boat. And, anyway, I still had a glimmer of hope that I would see my little brother again, although it was a very small glimmer.

Freddie looked at me, earnestly, but eventually he nodded, and I passed him into the lady, giving him one last hug.

"Thank you, um..." I trailed off, realising I didn't know the lady's name.

"Bridget Driscoll." The woman said, introducing herself.

"Thank you Bridget." I said, "I'm Scarlett, Scarlett Monty."

"Well then, good luck to you, Scarlett Monty" she said, giving me one last smile, before the officer called "Lower Away!" and the boat was lowered into the water.

I walked back to Jack, who was waiting nearby. He hugged me as I returned. "I know that was hard, but at least he'll be safe now" he said.

The boat was now extremely tilted, and it was difficult to move forward towards the stern. Eventually, we reached the railings, where a dozen or so other people were already clinging on.

"Quick," said Jack, hurriedly "Climb up onto the other side"

"But..." I began

"Scarlett, please, just climb onto the other side. Trust me." And I did trust him, so I clambered up and onto the front of the railings, which were now practically vertical. Jack scrambled up after me. I couldn't help but notice the deathly drop into icy waters just behind us, but I tried not to think about that.

I looked around at the other people, clinging on for their lives. One of them had a familiar hair net...

"Ann?" I called over to a woman, gripping the rails tightly. The woman turned, and I saw that it _was _Ann.

"Oh, Ann!" I called over the rush of the sea, and howl of the wind "Ann, I'm so sorry we fought. It was so stupid of me!"

"That's alright Scarlett!" came Ann's slightly muffled reply "I'm sorry too. I just kept thinking about that, about if I never saw you again...Well, I have seen you, so, and that's alright."

"This is a funny sort of conversation to be having whilst dangling of the end of a sinking ship, isn't it?" I said, with a nervous sort of laugh.

"Yes," agreed Ann "Do you think..." But at that moment, the ship tilted one last time, to make it completely upright, and I could now see why Jack had made us get on the other side. People on the inside railings, were now dangling, having to hold themselves up with their arms. Ann was among them.

"Keep holding on, Ann!" I called to her encouragingly, "You can do it!"

Except, I could see her hands slipping with sweat on the railing. Ann was not the smallest of women, and she was struggling to hold her weight up. Her hand slipped, and-

"ANN! NO!"

But Ann had already gone, fallen to her doom along with many others around us. I was screaming, crying hysterically, wanting to throw myself off the boat too, but then I felt two strong arms wrap themselves me, and rock me slightly, gently, until my sobs subsided.

"It's okay, it's okay" Jack said over, and over again.

Then there came a horrific sound. A loud, cracking sound. The boat was splitting in two. I could feel our end heading down towards the water, as the ripping sound of wood and metal rang through the night. People screamed as the stern hit the water with an almighty crash. We were submerged in water momentarily, and it took all the strength I could muster to keep a hold of the railings. I knew now that I had made the right decision in putting Freddie into a boat.

The stern bobbed in the water briefly, before tilting up again, until we were vertical once more.

"Oh god," Jack breathed in my ear, and it took me a few seconds to realise why. But when I did, a sick feeling rushed to my stomach; the stern was sinking down into the sea.


	26. It Seemed so Unbelievable

Hello, just to let you know, this chapter is going to be done from Cal's POV. I have now decided on an ending, so you shouldn't have to wait so long for updates while I think of inspiration. Thanks, Robyn x

Why was I sitting in this boat, about to be lowered to safety, when the love of my life is trying to save her own life? Well, I guess the answer to that is easy; I was scared. Scared of dying, I think. I wanted my own life more than I wanted hers. But then, a thought struck me, would I really want to live, knowing that I would never see her again? The answer to that would probably be no. So, what was I doing here?

I looked across at Lovejoy, who was nervously shuffling through some money. Taking this as a distraction, I suddenly, on impulse, launched myself back onto Titanic.

Lovejoy noticed me at once, making a wild grab for my ankle and calling, "Cal! What are you doing man? Get back here!"

But I was already back on the boat deck, looking around.

I knew I was probably running away from my only chance of survival, but that didn't matter now. All that mattered was that I found Scarlett.

I pushed through the hordes of panicking people. I was heading back to where I had left Scarlett; that seemed like a good place to start. Although, as I got closer, I thought the chances of her still being there were slim, I was sure Jack Dawson would have taken care of that.

I reached the spot and was dismayed to catch not a glimpse of Scarlett's beautiful red hair. My body heaving with disappointment , I turned to go, when someone bumped into me.

"Oh, sorry-" I muttered, but then realised who it was. Possibly the person who I least wanted to see at that moment; Lady Horsaw.

She was sobbing, and, after laying eyes on me, she threw herself into my arms.

"Oh, Caledon!" she exclaimed though her sobs "I know now that you will never love me as you love her! Forgive me for my sins! I should never have locked that wonderful girl in that room, I was clearly out of my mind, blinded with love, oh Caledon!" And she went off in a peal of sobs, raising steadily in volume.

"Um, there, there." I said, patting her awkwardly, "There's no need..."

"Oh!" cried Lady Horsaw, appearing to compose herself "No, I love you, but I know that you will never love me! So, I have saved the one you do love. I have put that darling servant girl on a lifeboat, so she will be safe! All I want is for you to be happy, and if that's with her and not me, then that's the way it is!"

I could hardly believe it. Lady Horsaw had saved Scarlett's life? After just trying to kill her? It seemed so unbelievable, yet I couldn't help feeling elated at her change of heart. She truly was a kind woman, and I thought that all of her previous sins should now be forgotten.

"You saved Scarlett, how can I ever repay you?" I thought for a moment "I know!" I said "Come with me, I can get you a seat on a lifeboat, there's one waiting just over here."

"Oh, Caledon, really. I don't need to..."

"Please, I insist. It's the least I can do now you have saved the love of my life."

I noticed a flash across Lady Horsaw's eyes as I said this, but a moment later, it was gone, and I felt sure I must have imagined it.

"Oh! Thank you, thank you!" cried Lady Horsaw continually, as I rushed her over to the lifeboat. I was extremely glad that it had decided to wait, and thanked the officer profoundly.

"Room for one more?" I asked, gesturing at Lady Horsaw.

"Jeez, Cal. You go off looking for one woman, and come back with another!" said Mr Lovejoy, although not unkindly.

We clambered into the lifeboat, everyone moving a little disgruntled, to make room for Lady Horsaw.


	27. Jack, Look! There's a Boat for Us!

The water was coming closer, rushing up towards us.

Jack was gripping me tightly around my shoulders. His touch usually made me feel safe and secure, but not this time. Nothing could make me feel safe, when it seemed our deaths were fast approaching. For I saw no way of survival after we hit the water; it was so cold and deep.

"It's alright Scarlett!" called Jack, "When I say so, I want you to take a deep breath, okay? The deepest breath you can get, alright?"

"Okay!" I called back. I could see what Jack was getting at, but there was a small problem; I couldn't swim. Nor could I hold breath for any useful amount of time.

I remember having a contest with my friend, Frances, when we were small, of who could hold their breath the longest. I only lasted about ten seconds before giving up. Ten seconds didn't seem very long at all when about to be plunged into the sea.

And there was the fact that I had never swam ever before in my life. Father had forbidden any activities that were not considered "proper" for girls. Whilst Freddie was allowed to go bathing in the lake everyday during summer, I was stuck inside embroidering table cloths. Being able to do a fancy cross stitch wasn't going to be much use now.

The water was drawing nearer, nearer, nearer, and then...

WHOOOSH.

Icy cold water hit me like a thousand knives. The sheer force of it was enough to wind me, and I forgot all about taking a deep breath.

I couldn't see, I couldn't breathe. Water was surrounding me, everything was going dark. I had lost all power to push myself back to the surface. I thrashed about wildly, desperately, getting nowhere. And then, someone had taken hold of my wrist, and was pulling me upwards, upwards and out to the surface.

My head pushed through and out into the night air, the cool wind painful on my face, and taking deep breaths. I looked about for my rescuer, and found that it was Jack.

"Scarlett, are you okay?" he said, treading water with one arm, and still gripping my wrist with the other.

I nodded, still gasping for breath.

"I need you to swim, Scarlett, I need you to swim for me, can you do that?"

I shook my head, "I can't, I can't..." I croaked.

"Come on," said Jack "I've got you, you're alright. Now, swim with me."

Summoning any energy I had left, I began to paddle along next to Jack, each stroke ripping through my chest.

All around us, people were screaming, grabbing onto bits of wood, or each other hysterically. This was madness. It was like my worst nightmare, I kept wanting to wake up and find myself in my bed in my room with Ann, ready for another day of jobs, just a normal day.

But the icy cold water engulfing me was oh so real; there was nothing dream-like about the pain ripping through me with every breath. Jack's paddling was slowing down, I was worried for a moment that he was tiring, after all, I was relying heavily on him to pull me along. But it turned out we had reached where he wanted to bring us.

"Get on here," said Jack, gesturing to an old, wooden chiffarobe bobbing in the water. "Go on, it's alright, get up."

I looked at him, doubtfully; did Jack expect us to just float here on the off chance the lifeboats would return to us? But then, it seemed we didn't have much of a choice.

I heaved myself up onto the chiffarobe, my wet clothes dragging me down, a dead weight clinging to me. Jack helped me up first, before trying to pull himself up. The chiffarobe wobbled dangerously, the weight of two people pushing its limits. Jack lowered himself back into the water, but I wasn't about to let him stay in the water whilst I was here buoyant and safe on the chiffarobe!

"No way are you staying in the water, when I'm up here. Come on, I'll pull you up!" I reached down and took hold of Jack's hand, helping him up. With difficulty, Jack eventually pulled himself up and lay down next to me, breathing heavily.

"What do we do now?" I asked, teeth chattering with the intense cold that was rushing over me.

"Just wait and see what happens, I guess" stuttered Jack, teeth chattering equally as much as mine. He slipped his hand into mine. His touch normally brought warmth to my skin, but now his hand was like a block of ice.

It was noisy, some man kept blowing a whistle, and the screams of the dying seemed to go on forever. I don't know how long we lay there; holding hands and clinging on to what was left of each other's body heat. We lay in silence, preserving our energy from not talking, but I could feel Jack's breath on my neck. I looked up at the stars above in the night sky, as time seemed to stop completely. It seemed like there would be no end to this, I had lost all feeling throughout most of my body and felt like I couldn't go on.

"Jack?" I breathed "I'm so cold, I can't..."

"Don't," he said "Don't say that. You're going to be okay, I'm here."

"But..."

"Just hold on for a little while longer, come on, you can it."

"I can't, I..."

"Scarlett, I love you."

"You...what?"

"I mean it. I love you, and I don't want to lose you."

I couldn't believe it. Despite our circumstances, I could still appreciate the warmth in Jack's voice as he declared his love for me.

"I love you too." I whispered back, and I meant it. I tried to reach over to him, but found my clothes and hair frozen solid. Instead, I stroked his palm with my fingers, still enclosed in his fist.

We resumed our silent survival, images flashing through my mind. Horrible images at first; Ann slipping away, leaving Freddie, Cal walking away from me, choosing himself over everything, dying here in the water...

No. I wasn't going to die. Jack was with me, the man I loved, the man who said he loved me. Wonderful images of us together danced before me, pushing the horrific ones away. I stared up into the sky, picturing Jack's lovely smile.

It was much quieter now, the screaming had long since finished. I tried not to think about why. I felt like I was having an out of body experience, watching myself from above. Crazy thoughts were running through my head, and I wondered wildly whether I would know if I had died?

And then, a bright light was coming towards me, getting bigger and bigger out of the darkness. What was it? I could only make out a fuzzy outline, but it was a blinding glare in contrast to the black night.

"Is there anyone alive out there?" came a call, sounding extremely distant, but it was pulling me back to reality.

With difficulty, I sat up, my frozen clothes cracking as I did so. Jack stirred next to me; his eyes were closed but he was breathing.

The light was moving away now, and it was only then that I could see what it was. A lifeboat.

"Is there anyone alive out there?" someone shouted out again, sounding even more far away.

"Jack," I hissed "Jack! There's a boat, come on Jack." My voice came out as nothing more than a whisper. I shook his shoulder and he opened his eyes.

"Jack, look! There's a boat for us!"

Jack's bleary face broke into one of his smiles I had so fallen in love with.

"That's great" he croaked.

But, I noticed the boat had turned now, and seemed to be heading away...

"No!" I tried to call out, "Wait! Come back! Come back!" But my voice was lost over the sea.

"Jack, Jack, the boat is leaving!" But Jack had closed his eyes again, and seemed not to hear me, though he was gripping my arm. I was on my own.

"Help!" I tried shouting again "Come back!" But the boat was further away than ever. I felt hot tears sliding down my face, feeling sheer desperation.

And then I spotted it. Well, him really. A man so pale and solid looking it seemed as if he was carved from ice, was floating by, a whistle hooked around his neck. Without stopping to think about the fact I was touching a dead person, and trying seriously hard not to look at his blank, staring eyes, I grabbed the whistle and shoved it in my mouth.

The sound rang out through the night. I summoned any breath I had left in my lungs, blowing the whistle continually. I urged the lifeboat to hear, wishing for it to turn around.

"Come on, come on" I muttered to myself, still blowing. Jack seemed to have slumped against me, and I needed help to arrive soon. And then, the boat was turning around. Hope and relief flooded my body. I couldn't quite believe it.

After what seemed like an eternity, the boat was pulling up beside Jack and I, and strong arms were lifting us into the boat, and wrapping us in warm blankets. Jack seemed to regain himself, and came and sat with me, huddled together. And it was then that I finally started to believe it; we were going to be alright.


	28. I Need to be Alone

Author's Note: Thanks everyone who has reviewed so far, and kept at the story for so long, despite long delays between chapters sometimes, I really appreciate it. As you may already know, the story is now coming to an end, with only a few more chapters to go. It will be a great achievement for me to have finally finished this, I never thought I would get round to it; it is the longest story I have ever stuck at. This chapter is from Lady Horsaw's POV. Robyn x

I had done it. I had survived, and Caledon Hockley was mine. That insolent little girl was probably at the bottom of the ocean now, along with her bratty brother and that scruffy, steerage, miscreant, Jack Dawson.

It wasn't as difficult as I had thought it would be, lying to Cal. It spurred me on to think that, while he thought that Scarlett girl was safe, I knew she wasn't. It had hurt me a little to find that he was still as besotted as ever with her, and also that it brought such joy to him to hear she was safe. However, it managed to get me a seat on a lifeboat, and that was all that really mattered to me.

And now, here I was, safe on board the Carpathia, planning the best way to get what I wanted now; Cal's hand in marriage.

Cal seemed agitated, distracted. He kept looking around at everyone that passed us.

"Can't see her." He muttered to himself. I knew instantly who he was talking about, Scarlett. I had to put an end to this nonsense, once and for all.

"Caledon, _dear," _I said, "Do let me go and look for that _wonderful _girl's name on the list of survivors. It will tell us where she will have been put, and then you can find her" And then, mustering up my face muscles, I smiled my sweetest smile at him.

Cal looked reluctant, "Maybe _I _should go..." he said

"No, no, I insist" I said "Get some rest, I'll go." Plastering that smile back on my face, I half forced Cal down into a chair.

"Oh, alright then." Cal agreed "Monty. Her name is surname is Monty." He added.

"Lovely."

I left Cal, and wondered along the deck. I had no intention of looking at the lists of survivors; after all, there was no chance that her name would be on the list. I would merely tell Cal that her name was not there, and she was presumed dead. That would put an end to all of Cal's feelings for her.

However, as I walked down the deck, a young man came up to me, several pieces of paper rustling in his hands.

"Mornin' Miss" he said, "I've got the lists of survivors from the Titanic here, would you like to check for any family or friends? We've got a record of where they're staying on Carpathia."

Hmm, well, I might as well do this properly, I thought to myself.

"Alright then," I said "I'm looking for Scarlett Monty, she was, I mean _is _a... friend of mine." I said, choosing my words carefully.

"Monty, Monty..." said the man, running a finger down the long lists.

On the inside, I was practically laughing to myself. There was no way she was going to be on the list; it would have taken a miracle to survive the disaster.

"Ah, yes," came the man's voice, jolting me out of my thoughts "Scarlett Monty, sixteen years of age, correct? That your friend?"

I opened my mouth in a perfect O shape. Scarlett was alive? She had survived? I couldn't believe it. What was I going to do now?

"Miss?" said the man "Are you alright? It's okay, she survived! She's staying in a little room on E deck, with another young man. Would you like me to show you? Or, would you like me to alert her that you are okay?"

I stood for a moment, dumbstruck. It just wouldn't do for Cal to find Scarlett; it would spoil all the work I had already done. I only had one option.

"Oh, no, no. There's no need for that. I shall pay her a visit myself in just a moment. Thank you for telling me." I flashed him a smile, to which he returned and then bustled away with his lists.

The moment he had turned his back, I felt my smile slip from my face. It was time to summon all my best acting skills for this next part; lying to Cal that Scarlett was dead.

I burst into our room, my body heaving with sobs that had taken me a whole five minutes to conjure up. Cal stood up swiftly from the chair, concern etched in his features.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, dramatically, throwing myself into his arms "Oh, Caledon! I...have...the ... most...dreadful...news" I heaved , taking breaths in between each word. "It's Scarlett! Her name wasn't on the list! She's-oh, sh-she's dead!" I burst out, collapsing onto Cal, crying hysterically.

Cal said nothing. Through my squinted eyes, I saw him raise the arm that I wasn't clinging on to, and bring it up to his face. He then pushed me gently aside, and slumped back into the chair, head buried in his hands.

I stopped my noisy crying. I hadn't thought that it would be this hard to tell him such a thing. I perched tentatively on the bed.

"But..." Cal opened his mouth to say something, but words seemed to have abandoned him. He swallowed and tried again, "But, I thought she got on a lifeboat? I thought..." he trailed off.

I didn't really know what to do or say. Comfort and sympathy were not some of my strong points, and I was starting to feel a bit bad, especially considering it was my fault. But, desperate times had called for desperate measures.

I went to put an arm around Cal, it seemed like the right thing to do, but he flinched at my touch, standing up suddenly.

"I need to be alone." He said, shortly, and, without further conversation, he sped from the room.


	29. I Want to be With You

Author's Note: Hello all, just to let you know, we're back on Scarlett's POV now. Also, I've put in something that is purely fictional, that a boat was sent from the Carpathia back to Ireland, containing some of the Irish passengers. Of course, I realised this is not true or factual, but it is a necessary part of the story. Robyn x

I sat with Jack, our arms around each other; still feeling slightly numb with shock. It still didn't exactly feel real that we were alive. I seemed so unreal that we had survived such a horrific disaster, after spending several hours in the freezing water, it just didn't feel possible. So many people had died, I felt so lucky to be one of the survivors. I also felt extremely lucky to have Jack by my side, I had been so sure that we would not have made it together.

Jack had thanked me over and over again for saving his life, each time I insister I hadn't done anything, and insister that it was him that had saved _my _life. Jack said he couldn't really remember anything from after we had reached the chiffarobe, and that the next thing he knew, he was waking up on a lifeboat.

Stewards on the Carpathia had made us comfortable in a small room together, and told us to get some sleep. But, every time I closed my eyes, I felt myself sinking into a horrible nightmare of drowning in the black, icy cold sea... I would awake with a start, look across at Jack, and find him staring up at the ceiling; he wasn't sleeping either.

We soon gave up and just found ourselves sitting closely together, not saying anything, but finding each other's company enough. I didn't want to talk about what had happened. Although I normally found silence frustrating and irritating, there was something extremely comforting sitting there with Jack, feeling the rise and fall of his chest, listening to his heart beat alongside mine. The steady rhythm was very calming, and Jack gently rubbed his thumb up and down my arm.

After a while, the porters must have decided we had had enough rest, for there was a knock at our door, and a maid entered carrying tea on a tray.

"Afternoon Sir, Miss." She said, placing the tray down on the table, and curtseying much more successfully than I had ever done. "And how are we feeling now?"

"We're just fine thanks," said Jack, his voice sounding like he hadn't used it for days.

The maid smiled kindly at us. "Is there anyone you'd like to look for on the survivors list? Family? Friends? Officer Clinch has the list."

I very much wanted to find Freddie's name. I wanted to know he was safe, and I wanted to know where he was. Jack seemed to read my thoughts.

"Yeah," he said "I'd like to see the list, please."

"Certainly, if you'd like to come with me, I'll happily take you to Officer Clinch."

"Thank you".

Jack turned to me, "Stay here, Scarlett. It's alright I'll go and find his name, I won't be long, I promise."

I opened my mouth to protest, but then decided that my legs probably wouldn't make the walk anyway. I nodded.

"Okay."

Jack kissed the top of my head before leaving the room with the maid.

I huddled on the bed, bringing my knees up to my chin. A horrible thought kept coming into my head, one I hadn't really thought of before. Was Freddie okay? Had he survived? I thought that he would be surely safe in a lifeboat, but now I was having doubts. I wasn't sure I would be able to bear it if I never saw Freddie again. He must be safe, he _must _be.

At that moment, Jack burst back into the room. I sprang up off the bed, fearing the worst. But then I saw that Jack was grinning.

"He's okay, he's fine!" he said, lifting me up off my feet. Relief flooded my body, and I hugged Jack close.

"Well," I said "Where is he? Can we go and get him now?"

Jack loosened his grip on me, and placed me gently back on the floor.

"Well, see, there's a small problem..." he said. I froze.

"What?" I demanded.

"Well, see, they've already shipped a boat back to Ireland from the Carpathia, and well, Freddie went with the family you gave him to. But, I've got the address of the family he is staying with. They left it so that you could find him."

I sank back onto the bed, my brain slowly digesting this news. Yes, Freddie was alive and well, but he was in...Ireland? Whilst me and Jack were speeding along the seas to America? What was I going to do? I had to get to him, I couldn't just leave him. But, then again, I had no money, no means in which to travel to Ireland. And then there was Jack. What would he do? We hadn't really discussed what would happen to us once we docked in New York.

Jack seemed to sense my thoughts. He crouched down in front of me, taking my hand in his,

"Scarlett" he said "I know you want to go and find Freddie, but, listen, it would make sense for us to stay in New York for a while, get some money, plan things out a little. Otherwise we would be going on a mad chase across Ireland."

"We? You mean..."

"Yes, Scarlett. I want to be with you."

"I want to be with you too. And ... I think you're right." I said, eventually "I think I need to get together some money, and sort things out properly. And then, when I've done that, I'll travel to Ireland to find Freddie, and..."

"And I will come with you." Jack finished my sentence. "Besides," he continued "There's some things in America I'd like to show you."

And without waiting for me to give a reply, Jack swept me up into his arms, and kissed me. Kissed me like never before, wrapped up in his arms. And I wanted to stay like it forever.


	30. Dearest Freddie

Wednesday 17th April 1912

Dearest Freddie,

I hope that you are well, and that you are enjoying life in Ireland with your temporary family. I'm so very sorry I had to leave you like that on Titanic, but I felt that you would be much safer there than anywhere else. I'm so happy and thrilled to hear you are alive and well. I do look forward to hearing about all your adventures in Ireland when I reach you.

I am fine, and so is Jack. We are together on the Carpathia, which is about to arrive in New York. We are very happy and well. I have decided that it is best that I remain with Jack in America for a while, just until I have got hold of enough money to travel and fetch you and bring you back with me. I hope that this will not take me long, and that we will be with each other again very soon. Jack has promised to take me horseback riding along the beach, doesn't that sound exciting? Although, he insists that I must ride the "proper" way, with one leg either side! I can't wait to tell you everything we get up to.

I miss you so much, and I can't wait to hold you in my arms again. I really hope that you will enjoy your time in Ireland, and I hope that you are not missing me too much. Jack sends his best wishes, and says he can't wait to see you.

See you very, very soon little brother,

Lots and lots of love from,

Your Darling Sister, Scarlett xxx


End file.
